The Executioners
by Dlbn
Summary: A future AU. Loveless, Zero, and Moonless make up a Septimal Moon organization referred to simply as the Executioners. When bodies start to pop up in Loveless' territory, its up to the Executioners to unravel the mystery.
1. Beginnings

Dlbn: Hey everyone! Back with another multi-chapter fic! This was playing out in my head for a while so I decided to get writing while I wait for inspiration for Careless. So, without further ado, I bring you _The Executioners_.

Disclaimer: I own ploy and anything non-canon. I do not own Loveless or anything canon to it. That all belongs to Yun Kouga. As usual, I make NO money off writing this.

Warnings: AU, a bit of OOCness associated with it being an AU, mild language

000

Sixteen-year-old Aoyagi Ritsuka trudged down the hallways of his high school with his friends Shioiri Yayoi and Hawatari Yuiko one spring morning. He could barely keep his eyes open from the late night he'd had working, but he had no choice but to show up at school or risk someone calling his mother and making her suspicious. It was bad enough he had to deal with her psychosis and abuse on a regular basis. But if she heard that he'd skipped school, she'd have his head. Normally when he skipped, he had his boyfriend Agatsuma Soubi call and pretend to be his father and excuse him for the day. But this time Soubi had refused, telling it was his fault for researching so late when they had the rest of the week to find their target. Ritsuka barely registered Yuiko calling his name until the third time, when Yayoi slapped his shoulder to get his attention.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Are you alright?" Yuiko wondered. "You look out of it…"

"I had a late night."

"Playing Wisdom Resurrection again?" Yayoi laughed. "You need to get off that thing once and a while. It can't be good for you."

"I guess not." Ritsuka rubbed his left eye. "I was having trouble sleeping so I did what I could to tire myself out, but it didn't work well."

"Warm milk helps me." Yuiko offered.

"Maybe a hot shower. I don't like warm milk."

"Or hot showers." Yayoi pointed out as Yuiko giggled.

Ritsuka smirked. "Yeah, I guess you have a point."

"Maybe your boyfriend would know what to do to tire you out." Yuiko offered, tapping a finger no her chin.

Yayoi almost spit out the water he was sipping from his water bottle. "Yuiko, I don't think you understand what that sentence implies…"

"What would it…? Oh, no!" Yuiko shook her head, hands waving in front of her as she did. "I didn't mean that! I know Ritsuka-kun is waiting…"

"Not so much that I'm waiting, but more that the law says we have to…"

"What?"

"Nothing."

Their teacher greeted them at the door and ushered them in just as the final bell of the period rang. Ritsuka sighed as he dropped his bag at his desk near the door and collapsed into his chair. Another boring day at school.

000

The following Saturday, a group of six figures were gathered around a round table in an office building up in Gora. The table was headed by a young girl with pink-purple ombre hair in false pigtails and an older man with orange hair. To her right sat a set of twins; one mint haired and one with hair of dark red and one eye covered by an eye patch. On her left sat a raven-haired teenager sitting on the lap of a much older blonde. The raven was sideways, one leg propped over the other as he lay across the chair. The blonde looked unamused by his antics, leaning his hand on his fist on the arm rest opposite the boy's head as his other hand ran absentmindedly through his hair. The girl at the head was leafing through paperwork while the twins bickered quietly about a game they were playing together on their iPhones. No one said anything aloud as the raven's eyes started slipping shut thanks to the feeling of his companion's fingers brushing his scalp. The girl cleared her throat as she tapped her papers on the table, gathering everyone's attention, before she spoke in hushed words with the man at her side.

"Can we go?" The raven asked. "I'm falling asleep waiting for you to say something."

"Give me a moment, Loveless." The girl scolded. "I'm not certain our intel is matching up properly. I wouldn't want to eliminate the wrong unit on accident, you know. It doesn't hurt to be cautious."

"Trust us; it hurts." The mint haired boy commented making his companion laugh.

The orange haired male took the papers from the girl and muttered something about disrespectful brats.

"You want to go, Moonless?" The mint haired boy was on his feet, chair swiveling behind him as he placed his hands on the edge of the table.

"Sit down, Zero." The elder male ordered, rolling his eyes as he ignored the mint haired boy's attempts to frighten him with a glare.

"Why don't you make me?" Mischief sparkled in his eyes.

"That's enough, Zero." The blonde ordered, waving them off with the hand that had been supporting his head. "I know you're bored. Get over it."

" _Arigato_ , Agatsuma." The girl offered.

He only nodded. The raven on his lap turned to face him.

 _I want to go home. Can she just hurry up?_ The raven asked through their bond.

The blonde put a finger to his lips. _All in good time, Ritsuka_. His deeper voice all but purred as the kitten on his lap fidgeted and blushed.

 _God, would you just take my damn ears already? The shit you do to me_.

 _Look who's talking, kitten. All in due time_. He leaned up enough to kiss the younger on the temple.

The raven whimpered at the loss of contact until the blonde moved him to sit upright and lean against him.

"Yo, if you're gonna do that, go do it in private." The maroon haired boy complained. "No one wants to see that."

"Shut up." The raven muttered, tossing a harsh glare over his shoulder at the other.

"Enough." Moonless sighed, taking the papers back from her companion. "I have a new list." She pushed two separate lists at each duo on either side of her. "As usual, people acting up or in need of testing for you, Loveless. Zero, a couple units we have yet to track down and get a location on. I have my own execution list. If you run into any trouble, you know what to do."

"So, we can go now?" The mint haired boy asked.

"Yes, yes, you're dismissed." The girl rolled her eyes.

Both boys hollered in excitement before snatching up their papers and making a beeline for the door. The girl massaged her temples as they left. Loveless chuckled as he slid out of his lover's grip and eased his way out of the chair. The blonde followed as the teen stretched, popping his back.

"I don't know how you do it, Aoyagi." The girl told him.

Aoyagi cocked an eyebrow. "How I do what?"

"Put up with those two fools."

"Those two _fools_ are my friends, and our colleagues. It would do you a favor if you were _nice_ to them once and a while."

"Once again, I don't understand how that's possible." She left him alone.

Aoyagi rolled his eyes.

"You can't be mad at her for wondering." The blonde informed. "They can be a handful."

"Of course, but that doesn't change the fact that we are friends." Aoyagi shook his head. "If it wasn't for them and you, I wouldn't know a damn thing about this world, and she'd be short an executioner."

He nodded. "I know. Try not to let her get to you." He kissed the neko's temple and took the file from his hand to look over as they walked.

"Recognize any names?" Aoyagi asked.

"Just your brother, as always."

"As if he'd let us catch him." Aoyagi sighed. "I don't know what's more pathetic. The fact that she wants to catch him and keeps him on the list, or his devotion to me preventing him from slipping up."

"Both are rather ridiculous, if I were being honest."

"If you're not honest with me, I'll cut your tongue out."

The blonde chuckled. "You can act like this tough executioner all you at, Ritsuka, but I'm the only one that knows the real you. Inside and out." He winked.

Aoyagi blushed. "My friends home wonder if I'm a virgin. I wonder _why_ I am."

The blonde chuckled. "All in due time, my love. All in due time."


	2. Stop Saying 'All In Due Time'

Dlbn: Hey, everyone! Holy crap, I'm updating in a timely manner!

Nbld: Wanted to update mid-week but no internet and a lot of garbage going on, so no chance.

Dlbn: Eventually my internet will come back.

Nbld: Time for the Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Cider or Pumpkin Spice flavored drinks for you both!

Promocat: Thank you! More coming up!

The DarkCat: Thank you! Continuing in 3…2…1!

Disclaimer: I don't own Loveless. Anything canon belongs to Yun Kouga. Anything random, like classmates and sensei that AREN'T Hitomi, Nagisa, or Ritsu belong to me. I make NO money off writing in this category.

Dedication: Heard through the grapevine that my cousins are getting married today. (anyone who has read my previous works probably knows from Ans that my cousins are cousins) Though I'm not invited because they hate me, I wish them the best and hope their kids aren't bullied too much when kids and their parents find out.

000

Ritsuka tapped a little tune on his desk with a pencil as he waited for class to end the next Monday. The lecture had finished early, so the students were permitted to do homework or otherwise entertain themselves until the bell rang. Yaoi and Yuiko were happily chatting away about the Spring Equinox Festival, but he could really care less. Festivals only meant crowds, and crowds meant plenty of spaces for trouble to hide. He knew worrying was futile, but he couldn't help it. Without Soubi at his side, he admitted he was virtually useless. Could he defend himself, and others, if need be? Yes. Did he want to? _No_. Especially if it were a battle, taking damage and injury himself wouldn't be as easy as it would had his Fighter been there to share the pain.

"Ritsuka-kun, are you listening?" Yuiko asked. "You're spacing out again."

"I'm not spacing out." Ritsuka commented. "I just don't have anything to add."

"Are you even _going_ to the festival?" Yayoi asked.

"Probably not. I'm not one for crowds." Ritsuka pulled out his phone as it vibrated to indicate a text was on its way.

His friends went back to talking when they realized he wasn't listening again.

 _Unit Masked has been eliminated by Zero. I took the liberty of taking them off our list._ A text from his boyfriend greeted.

 _Good work. We look for Tamed tonight._ Ritsuka texted back.

 _Your wish is my command xoxo_

Ritsuka ignored it as the bell rang to dismiss students between classes. He and his friends had different classes this period and split their ways in the hall after saying goodbye. He spun the combination to his locker as the other students swarmed around him, feeling a little claustrophobic and a lot on edge. He knew there was no danger, not in the walls of the school anyway, but that didn't stop his fight or flight responses from buzzing. He got what he needed quickly and slipped into his classroom just as the walls felt ready to close around him.

"You're early." His sensei greeted.

"Oh, yeah, sorry." Ritsuka greeted.

"No, please don't apologize." He smiled. "It's nice to have some company, Aoyagi-kun."

"Thank you." Ritsuka bowed and slipped into his seat, watching the elder man fret about trying to put together materials for the science lab. "Um…do you need help?"

"Help is always welcome." He grinned. "Can you make sure each table has the right amount of equipment for me while I put together some chemical jars?"

"Sure."

Ritsuka took a sheet of paper from him and walked around the room to the stations, taking time to carefully count each item and grab anything missing from inside the cabinets to put in the right spot. The task was almost mind numbing, but it helped him take his mind off both his execution orders from the weekend before and from the claustrophobic feeling settling in his chest. He still felt it, to a degree, but not enough to actually care about. Students started to come in while he was giving his sensei back the paper. The final bell was moments away from ringing. He was lucky his lab partners came in when they did to distract him from the nagging feeling. When the bell rang, they all stood at attention.

"Please, please, sit down. Good morning!" Their sensei greeted.

"Good morning!" Came a chorus of student voices before they all sat down.

"We have a lab day today. Everything is already set up. Please take one of each packet from the front desk and get to your stations. I'll dispense samples in a few minutes."

Ritsuka fallowed Kita and Taku, his lab partners, to their table.

"Ah, another lab day. Smell the chemicals." Kita took a deep breath of air.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say your brain was made of chemicals." Taku teased. "What's wrong with you?"

"That was the lamest insult _ever_." Kita laughed. "Just trying to make small talk. Why is everyone around here so serious? Lighten up!"

"You're light enough for all of us ten times over." Ritsuka chided. "Where are you from again?"

"Osaka…"

"I've never been, but could there be something in the water? Are you all like this?"

Kita rolled his eyes. "Oh ha-ha, Aoyagi."

Taku laughed. "At least he's got enough of a brain to function."

Kita smacked him with a notebook as their sensei began distributing samples. Ritsuka took the distraction of someone breaking a beaker to think for a bit. It wasn't that he minded being paired with the boys, and he knew his boyfriend wasn't the jealous type, but he couldn't lie and say that neither were attractive. They were, in their own way. Kita was a social, yet nerdy type and Taku was a more reserved type, and a bit of a douche. Ritsuka loved the controlling side of Soubi that he rarely showed, but he also enjoyed the artsy-nerdish side of his Fighter as well. He could see both his favorite traits of the blonde in his lab partners, but they were sixteen years old and, therefore, not his type. Besides, he couldn't be with someone who wasn't part of his secret world. They couldn't understand the bond between himself and Soubi, nor his need to go rushing off to Gora every weekend and randomly throughout the week if need be. He didn't need to go during the week often during the school year, but it did happen off and on, mostly during the summer.

"Oh, sweet." Kita woke Ritsuka from his reverie as their sensei left behind some samples. "Purple and green."

"Awesome." Taku rolled his eyes, flipping open the first packet. "Let's just get this over with."

"Aye, aye, Captain!" Kita gave a salute.

Ritsuka laughed. He couldn't see any type of relationship between them even if Soubi wasn't around, but friendship with these guys couldn't hurt.

000

Ritsuka sat on Soubi's lap in his bedroom as he browsed through information he'd gotten concerning the whereabouts of two different teams he'd been tasked with finding. What Mikado had given him wasn't much, and his usual sources were pretty much bone dry. None of it seemed credible, but he wasn't about to admit that and move from his spot. He was comfortable, with Soubi's arms wrapped around him and his breath in his human ear.

"Ritsuka." Soubi spoke carefully. "If you don't want to move, that's fine, but don't pretend this information is worth anything when we can both tell it's not."

Ritsuka rolled his eyes. "Baka." He complained.

Soubi chuckled. "You're easy to read, my love."

"Well, now the mood is killed." Ritsuka tossed his file folder onto the desk.

"My apologies."

Ritsuka stood, pulling the blonde with him. "Can we talk?"

"Hai, what's troubling you?"

"I felt like I was being watched today, like the world was closing in around me."

"What do you think it was?"

"I'm not sure, but I've got a feeling we need to be prepared for whatever heads our way."

Soubi let the neko push him onto the bed and straddle his legs, facing him, with his arms around his shoulders.

"Ritsuka…" He warned.

"I'll behave." Ritsuka nipped at his ear. "Mostly."

Soubi chuckled, pulling the boy closer by the waist and fusing their lips together. Nimble fingers got lost in blonde locks as their lips danced in a familiar fashion with one another. Ritsuka pushed the blonde back against his bed, but Soubi had none of it when the younger's hand slipped to his belt.

"No." He ordered the teen.

"Come on, it's not like I'm going to lose my ears."

"You know damn well why we can't do anything."

"Who's going to know?"

" _Ritsuka_."

"Alright, alright." Ritsuka climbed off the elder male and flopped onto his back. "You're such a killjoy, Soubi."

Soubi chuckled. "You'll understand one day, kitten."

Ritsuka bat his hand away as he tried to thread his fingers through his hair.

"Not in the mood anymore, I see."

"Just…whatever, Soubi." Ritsuka laughed, sliding under the blankets. "Stay tonight?"

It was partially an order, partially a request.

"Of course." Soubi slid under the blankets with him, wrapping his arms around the almost asleep teen. "Shall I be gone before your mother comes home?"

She had finally reconnected with some high school friends a year or so ago and went out almost every night with at least one of them. Ritsuka was glad because it meant she wasn't home hurting him, and he could have as much alone time in his room with Soubi as he wanted. But his mother _would_ check up on him in the morning and seeing Soubi there would set her off again. He didn't need the drama nor the police interference.

"Please. I don't want her freaking out."

"Hai." Soubi kissed the top of his head. "Sukidayo, Ritsuka."

He yawned. "Sukidayo, Soubi…Oyasumi…"

"Oyasumi."

His eyes slid closed as he heard Soubi utter a small spell to put him to sleep for the night. Unlike the spells that stole his memories from him, it was weak enough only to hold him over while Soubi slipped out of his bed and off into the night a few hours later. But for now, he'd revel in the contact and warmth of his Fighter's arms.


	3. I Guess We Found Him

Dlbn: Still no internet, but here's a day late update!

Nbld: I didn't realize til I got home that I forgot to update, so I'm putting it out ow before I forget.

Dlbn: Cuz I almost forgot again.

Nbld: Oops. Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat for reviewing! Pumpkins for you!

Promocat: He's always keeping a close eye on his brother, whether Ritsuka knows it/likes to admit it or not.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and non-canon characters. Everything else belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off this writing. If I did, I could pay my bills on time, couldn't I?

000

When Ritsuka arrived at school the following morning without incident from his mother for once, he was surprised by the number of parents hanging around by the gate. Some were on the school property, but most were on the sidewalks or in the streets. He spotted Yuiko and Yayoi with her parents and Yayoi's step mother and joined them.

"Hey, what's going on?" He greeted his friends.

"Oh, Ritsuka-kun, it's terrible!" Yuiko cried, throwing herself at him.

"Y-Yuiko!" He blushed, taking a step back so he didn't fall.

"You know the teaching assistant for class 7-1 that went missing a few weeks ago?" Yayoi asked calmly.

"Yeah?"

"They found him…dead!" Yuiko sobbed.

"Oh…that's terrible…"

Considering he dealt with death a lot for a living, he wasn't too bothered by it, but he'd pretend to be for the sanity of his friends and their parents.

"Where…?" He asked at last over Yuiko's sobs.

"In the courtyard." Yayoi's step-mother stated.

It had taken forever for his father to transition from being a couple to engaged and then married since his first two marriages were both flops, but they finally went through with it the previous summer.

"Here?" Ritsuka cocked an eyebrow. "That's disturbing."

"It's terrible!" Yuiko cried. "Who could do such a horrible thing to such a nice sensei?"

"The world is full of cruel people, darling." Her father attempted to soothe her, pulling her off Ritsuka and into his arms for a hug. "Unfortunately, he happened to have crossed paths with someone who was one of those people."

"Or more than one." Her mother pointed out.

"We'll be the judge of that." A man said as a group of men in pressed black suits swarmed the campus.

"Who…who are you…?" Yuiko's mother asked.

"Sweepers?" Ritsuka wondered, recognizing them instantly.

"Yes…?" The man cocked an eyebrow.

"You know these people?" Yayoi asked.

"Yeah, they're sent in before we are." Ritsuka looked up at him. "Aoyagi Ritsuka."

The man smiled. "Gomeki Hideki." The man greeted. "I'm sorry, we should have called."

"I'm not certain I would have answered, if I was being honest with you."

While Sweepers were sent in to investigate spell related deaths before Executioners were called to determine spell type and compile a list of possible suspects, they worked independently and rarely encountered one another. Ritsuka only met a handful of them when he was first being inducted as an Executioner and member of Septimal Moon; his world's governing body.

"I wouldn't expect anything less, I assure you." The man stated. "I'll let you know what we find."

"Please do." Ritsuka stated. "Homicide or not, this is _my_ territory, and I won't have it trounced upon. Understood?"

"Loud and clear." The man bowed before rushing in after the last of his team.

"You have a bit of explaining to do, Aoyagi-kun…?" Yuiko's father wondered.

Ritsuka's ears and tail twitched as his ears pressed to his scalp. "Classified." He informed, adjusting the strap to his messenger bag on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry…?"

"Aoyagi!" A woman shouted, waving at him from the school gates. "We found something!"

"Gomen." Ritsuka bowed and slipped away. "Saved by the shout." He muttered.

"Huh?" The woman asked.

"Nothing. You found something?"

"I'm sorry, but we cannot allow a student near the crime scene." A police officer stated. "Whatever you have to show him will have to…"

"Two years ago, I walked in on my brother's corpse, burned alive at my desk at school." Ritsuka stated. "I'm sure I can handle this. Now, may we proceed?"

The Sweeper nodded and led him around back to the courtyard. He knew people were talking and exchanging worried glances concerning them, but he'd have Soubi wipe their memories later. It was the same spell used against him as a child, but it had been used by someone who wasn't qualified to use it at the time. For the people around him, they'd just forget a few moments instead of a few years.

In the courtyard, Sweepers were walking around in all directions, taking careful notes and looking closely at things that either were evidence or could be useful.

"Executioner on scene!" Hideki announced.

The Sweepers stopped and bowed to him.

"Please, please; continue your work. I do not wish to impede you." Ritsuka waved them off.

They went back to work as the girl led him to where Hideki and the body were. Hideki was kneeling next to the corpse of a young man, around twenty-five or so, with teal hair and green eyes. His mouth was open in a silent scream, as if he'd try to frighten away his attacker. Ritsuka didn't spot any kind of murder weapon, which ruled out civilians, or people not associated with his world. He also didn't see any ligature marks from a restriction, so he had a feeling the death wasn't battle related.

"Did you find a name?" He asked.

"We're not touching it without word from you or Nagisa-sensei."

"She wouldn't come all this way for a _corpse_ , gentlemen. If there's no name, I cannot proceed through the normal channels." Ritsuka explained. "We have no reason to believe that this is connected to our world without a name and cannot proceed with an investigation."

"…Check the most obvious places first." Hideki told the female Sweeper. "Make sure you get photographs before you begin."

"Hai." She nodded pulling out a digital camera and taking shots from all angles.

"What are you thinking?" Hideki asked.

"I don't discuss my findings with anyone outside of my team."

"Your Unit?"

"The Executioners, of course." Ritsuka replied, watching their female companion closely.

"Are we wasting our time, sir?"

"I won't know until we find a name." Ritsuka dropped his bag at his feet.

"I got one." The female stated, taking a photograph right under the man's left armpit.

Ritsuka joined her and leaned close to inspect it and make sure it wasn't a tattoo. The raised skin was slightly darker in comparison to the man's skin, which meant it was likely a name.

"Tamed." He read. "Hm, I recognize that name."

"You do?"

"It's on my orders." Ritsuka stated. "Alright, listen up."

The courtyard fell silent, all eyes on him.

"Collect, bag, and tag anything that might be considered evidence or otherwise useful. Interview every single person outside. I will have Seven obtain a staff listing to find who is not here now, and they will be questioned at a later time. Leave the who and the how to me." Ritsuka ordered. "We have one body, and they are part of a Unit. We are short the rest of Tamed. If they are come across in this investigation, do not engage. They are on my list and therefore mine to handle. You worry about everything else. Anything you find remains within this circle and myself and my Fighter, I do not need to tell you that. This is _my_ established territory, and I will take lead of the investigation regardless of Moonless' desires. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" They chorused.

"Get to work." Ritsuka grabbed his backpack. "Don't let your investigation impede the school day." He handed Hideki a card from his wallet. "Call me if you find anything pertinent that I need to know, or for emergencies, but nothing more. I'll have Soubi come and assist and supervise. While you do your job, he will do ours and get what little information he can get."

"And what of Nagisa-sensei?"

"She wouldn't come all this way for a simple murder without anything from Zero or I." He knew she didn't care much to deal with Mikado if she didn't have to. "She won't be here. After Soubi is done, have the body transported to the Old Schoolhouse for analysis by Nagisa."

"Yes, sir."

Ritsuka nodded. "Good day, and good luck."

They both bowed.

"You as well."

Ritsuka walked away, texting Soubi as he did.

 _Half of Tamed was murdered. Body in the courtyard at school. Assist the sweepers and gather information. I have class._ He texted.

 _As you wish, Ritsuka. xoxo see you shortly_

 _Only bother me if it's of high importance._

 _Such as?_

 _You come across them. Or_ _ **Them**_.

 _Beloved._

 _Who else?_

 _You got it, kitten. Sukidayo._

 _Sukidayo._

He shut his phone's screen off and slid it into his pocket as he joined his friends again.

"Are you okay?" Yuiko asked.

He waved her off. "I'm alright. A little death never bothered me."

"That's troubling." Yayoi's step-mother commented.

Ritsuka chuckled. "I suppose it is." He cracked his neck. "They're going to do what they have to do, we're going to do what we have to do."

"Which is?"

"Go to class. They're opening the doors now."

"Mommy…" Yuiko sniffled.

"You'll be fine, sweetie. There are plenty of people inside to protect you." Her mother hugged her.

Ritsuka snorted. Soubi would be here shortly. That was all the protection Yuiko, or anyone, needed.

"I'm a phone call away." Her father agreed.

"As am I." Yayoi's step-mother nodded. "Stay safe, and try to have a good day."

"I will." Yayoi smiled at her.

"Yuiko will, too." She nodded, twin tails bouncing.

"Great." Her mother kissed the top of her head.

"We will see you later. God to see you again, Aoyagi-kun."

"Oh, please, Ritsuka is fine, sir."

He ruffled the neko's hair before the three parents departed. Ritsuka let out a groan and slouched a bit.

"God, that hurt my back." He complained.

"Why do you always put on an act?" Yayoi asked as they began walking in. "And are you going to tell us what's going on?"

"No to the second, but to the first, I hate when people worry about me, especially adults. I'll be fine." Ritsuka waved him off.

"Yuiko hopes so, Ritsuka-kun."

His ears twitched. "I know so."

Soubi arrived on campus as the doors closed behind the trio, effectively separating the spell world and the real world.


	4. Sometime Today Would Be NICE, Nagisa

Dlbn: Hey everyone! Another day late update because I wasn't working yesterday. Left Thursday night to stay at my friend's mom's place so I could go to my godsons' birthday party in another state. So, no Wi-Fi and no time even if I had it.

Nbld: Though only myself and my son, and the youngest boy's father and his side of the family came (her side had a party on the oldest son's actual birthday for him and will have one on the youngest's actual birthday for him) we had a good time. First time meeting him and his side so it was interesting.

Dlbn: Though we hate him, we behaved.

Nbld: And now we reward ourselves by posting an update. Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Birthday cake for you!

Promocat: If they realize something is up with him, they're probably not going to say anything. I feel like they'd feel like they're intruding to ask personal questions and that he'll tell them when/if he's ready. I don't know, even in the anime/manga, they don't seem to want to offend him. Who can blame them, honestly? We've seen his temper in the manga when those girls pick on Yuiko, after all.

The DarkCat: Thank you! After a while of trying to come up with names, I think you'd run out of words you can add "less" to that sound any good, honestly. I think all teams being named with _less_ make sense when you talk about back in Soubi's mother and Ritsu's generation, but now that it's two generations after them, I feel they'd run out. After all, Seimei's name isn't a "less", and I doubt he's the only one. Thank you!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Loveless or anything canon. I do own Tamed and any non-canon people and places. I make NO money out of writing this fic.

Dedication: Happy third birthday to my godson Tucker (Sept. 11) and happy first birthday to his little brother Jaiyden (Sept 18).

Dedication 2: I didn't get to post, but the birthday for my aunt that passed was Wednesday (Sept 13). I miss you Moo. A week from yesterday is the anniversary of her death, and I'm working both jobs, but I'll update on that day too for her.

000

After school let out, Ritsuka was greeted by Soubi holding a manila envelope just outside the school gates. He smiled at the blonde as he walked out with Yuiko and Yayoi. They hadn't yet met his boyfriend, and he was a little worried about how they'd respond, but it was about time his worlds were connected, anyway.

"Who's that?" Yuiko whispered. "I've never seen him before."

"He's here for me." Ritsuka informed, happily bouncing to the blonde's side. "Afternoon, Soubi!"

"Hello Ritsuka." He greeted with a small smile. "You're in a good mood."

"Aren't I always?"

"Rarely."

Ritsuka laughed, taking the envelope from him and reading over the contents. "Your findings?"

"In blue, sweepers in red."

"Excellent." Ritsuka grinned, shutting the file with a snap. "Oh, my manners. Shioiri Yayoi and Hawatari Yuiko, this is Agatsuma Soubi; my boyfriend."

"Oh! I thought Ritsuka-kun made you up…" Yuiko muttered.

Soubi chuckled. "My apologies for the confusion." He gave a light bow. "A pleasure to meet you."

"So…you're involved in this investigation?" Yayoi asked. "We saw them moving the body during gym class. To the coroner, I think?"

"Our coroner, yes." Soubi nodded. "They should be arriving in an hour, give or take."

"Excellent time. They must have put an emergency rush on it."

Soubi nodded. "Nagisa is very interested in this one, though I can't fathom why. There's nothing special about him."

"Maybe there's something we're must not seeing." Ritsuka informed. "You know how these things go. The deeper we dig, the more we uncover."

He nodded. "There's nothing in our previous file, either."

"Surprise. Mikado's intel has always been questionable." Ritsuka rolled his eyes. "If I had the right connections, I'd get information for myself."

"You have the right connection."

"Don't even think about it."

"You know you did already."

"I entertained the thought for a moment, but it would be ludicrous to actually contact _him_ of all people. We're not exactly on the friendliest of terms."

"He thinks you are."

"He's a fool."

"Well, I can't argue that."

"Who are you talking about?" Yayoi asked.

"An old…friend, I guess you could call him." Ritsuka answered.

"It doesn't sound like you're friends anymore." Yuiko pointed out.

"Because we're not, but he doesn't seem to get the hint." Ritsuka sighed. "Did you get the tickets?"

"As soon as you said to." Soubi held up an envelope.

"Excellent. When do we leave?"

Soubi looked at his watch. "An hour and a half."

"Enough time to go home and pack, and possibly grab a bite before we depart."

Soubi nodded. "As you wish. Your mother isn't home. I saw her when I went on a coffee run."

Ritsuka nodded. "Less I need to worry about." He said. "Sorry, guys, but I have to go."

"Where are you guys going?" Yuiko bounced on her toes. "Yokohama?"

"No, we're following the body." Ritsuka corrected her. "We've got a murder to solve, after all."

"You're actually working on this case?" Yayoi asked.

"Oh, that reminds me. Soubi, you know what to do."

"Hai." He nodded.

"I'll see you in a couple days." Ritsuka stated. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"You got it." Yuiko beamed. "Just…be careful, Ritsuka…"

"I always am." He grinned. "Besides, I've got Soubi. I'm untouchable."

"You flatter." Soubi offered.

Ritsuka took his hand and pulled him away, waving at his friends. "I don't plan on dying just yet! I'll be back soon!"

He waved until they were around the corner and dropped his cheerful act.

"I don't want to make them worry, but I'm rather disturbed, myself."

"How so?" Soubi asked.

"One of our targets, half of one of our targets, was murdered and their body was dumped at my school. The same way Seimei…er…his _victim_ was." Ritsuka stated. "Don't you find that a bit odd?"

"Cringeworthy, I agree." Soubi nodded. "Are you certain you don't wish to speak with him?"

"Let's get Nagisa's results first and work on a game plan." Ritsuka responded, leading Soubi towards his home. "If necessary, I'll have no choice but to go to him."

"I wonder if he's counting on that."

"Yes…I wonder as well…"

000

Mikado had elected to keep her nose out of this one since it was Ritsuka's territory and therefore his problem and responsibility to bring the killer or killers to justice. Since it was likely a unit, he'd go with _killers_. He was glad she decided not to butt into his business. She'd just piss him off and get in his way, he knew. Though they were a handful, he was better off working with the headstrong Zero. At least Soubi could and would knock them into line when they fell out of it. Mikado didn't always do a good job with that, which was annoying for someone in a leadership position. Personally, he thought he was better qualified for her job, but that would mean keeping her in line and skipping school a lot to handle affairs in Gora that she was supposed to take care of. He was an executioner, yes, but he'd rather not have his hands tainted with blood as badly as hers were. She'd been at this for longer than he was awake as a Sacrifice, and he was certain she was bathing in it up to her eyeballs by now. As a former Executioner, so was his brother.

Ritsuka stood with Soubi next to the counter of Nagisa-sensei's lab. She was the Zero boys' mother, and the scientist of Septimal Moon. She also had a nursing degree, but she left the Medical position to Kunugi Asitai, seat five. She was looking over a notepad and making comparisons between what she'd written and what she was seeing on the body, and had been doing so since they arrived about ten minutes beforehand. She had said her findings were ready to present, but it didn't see that was the case. She probably just wanted Ritsu, Septimal Moon's head seat, off her back about it.

"Are you going to speak, Nagisa, or are we going to die of boredom?" Soubi wondered.

She stopped to glare at him. "Do you want this done right or done fast?"

"Both, preferably." Ritsuka commented, picking at his nails.

"You'll get one or the other, so get off my back." She went back to her findings, muttering to herself.

"Are you going to amend the recorded autopsy as well?" Soubi mused.

"I don't record my autopsy." Nagisa stated. "Easier to destroy paperwork than a recording, should I need to."

"I see." Ritsuka responded. "That's why Nana does everything on her computer."

"I'm rather certain she's forgotten how to write in kanji by hand."

"Haven't most people?"

"Says the artist." Ritsuka stated, leaning his head back to look up at the blonde.

Soubi chuckled.

"Alright, I've got my findings." Nagisa stated.

"About time." Ritsuka snorted. "What do you have?"

"Asphyxiation by use of spell." Nagisa informed. "His windpipe was crushed, but there are no ligature marks to suggest that a weapon other than a spell was used. He lived long enough to get another breath of air before losing consciousness. He was then injected with an unknown chemical substance." She picked up his arm to show his wrist, stained golden by iodine around a hole in his wrist. "I'll run tests on it, but I'm not certain what it is right now. I doubt a paralyzing agent."

"Could have used the drugs to paralyze him so he couldn't counter spell." Ritsuka offered. "If I'm right, he's the Fighter. But I can't be certain unless we find the other half."

"And knowing that he's dead, they're not going to stick around to be found. If they weren't already in Tokyo when he died, they're not going to be now." Nagisa informed, handing Ritsuka a copy of her notes. "If this is the Sacrifice, there's no reason to paralyze, unless they just didn't want him to run. But even that would be futile with the spell, if it's the one I'm thinking of."

"What one?"

"The _one_."

"And we're back on this subject again…" Ritsuka narrowed his eyes.

"Pout all you want, Aoyagi, but you have to realize that any time a murder pops up, he's suspect number one."

"Your official finding is murder?"

"It's included in my report." Nagisa nodded. "This level of severity, I can't see it being anything but murder, honestly."

Ritsuka nodded. "As I figured, since he'd been missing a while."

"He has?" Nagisa picked up his wrist again. "That would explain the bruising."

"What?" Ritsuka stepped closer, Soubi on his heels.

"He was restrained, bound." Nagisa stated. "If he was abducted, these are probably from his captors using ropes. Even restriction marks fade after death."

"Then he was bound while he lay dying. There's no reason for those bruises to remain if one occurred before the other."

"You _are_ learning from me, Aoyagi. I'm impressed." Nagisa smirked.

"Judging by the coloration of the bruising, I'd say he's been bound since he went missing." Soubi pointed out.

"Accurate." Nagisa nodded. "Even his mouth was restricted, it would appear. I found some fibers lodged in his teeth." She showed them a petri dish with fibers on it. "Nylon."

"My brother doesn't bound his victims. He enjoys the chase too much, him and his dog, that is." Ritsuka informed. "I doubt he's connected."

"But he might be worth talking to."

"I will only turn to Aoyagi Seimei when I am desperately searching for an answer with no leads." Ritsuka stated. "I'd better be on my death bed before I contact that bastard about anything, and when that time comes, Soubi needs to kill me."

"I'd sooner die, Ritsuka." Soubi kissed his knuckles.

"You two make me sick." Nagisa chided. "That's all the information that I have for you."

"We shall be out of your hair then." Soubi gave a slight bow of his head.

"Arigato, Nagisa." Ritsuka bowed as well. "Do let me know of the results of your analysis, would you?"

"Of course. I'll report anything I find, but other than the chemicals, I think this poor bastard's given us all he's going to give us."

Ritsuka and Soubi left without a word as Nagisa placed a sheet over the man's cold, lifeless body. Stepping out into the warmth of the hallways of the Old Schoolhouse, Ritsuka stretched. Hs shirt rode up to expose a slice of skin. Soubi licked his lower lip as he watched the boy stretching, knowing he couldn't do anything about it for another two years or so. Technically they could get away with Ritsuka losing his ears at seventeen, but he didn't want to risk going to jail for a few hours of sexual pleasure. Hours because he was certain they weren't just going to stop after they'd coupled once. Not with how long they'd been waiting and all the sexual tension between the two of them, anyway.

"See something you like?" Ritsuka asked, looking at him out of the corner of his eyes.

"Nothing that I can do anything about."

Ritsuka rolled his eyes. "You know you want me, Soubi, just give in already."

"We don't want to hear this." Yoji complained, slipping around the corner and leaning on the wall.

"Oh, look who's here to spoil the fun." Soubi huffed. "Where's your other half?"

"Miss me?" Natsuo asked, joining his Sacrifice.

"Not at all, I assure you."

"Soubi, don't be cruel." Ritsuka laughed.

"He's cruel? You're the frigging king of Multiple Personalities over here." Yoji waved a hand at him.

Ritsuka's friendly mask was replaced with a look of annoyance. "What do you _want_ from me, Zero? You're just like my brother. Bitch that you want me to be the real me, then bitch when I am."

"Seimei's just the king of Bitching." Natsuo offered. "You could do literally everything he says, to the _letter,_ and he'd still complain about it."

"Don't I know it." Soubi rolled his eyes as Yoji snickered at him.

"Nagisa give you anything interesting?"

"He was bound, strangled, and paralyzed; not necessarily in that order."

"So…a civilian?"

"Definitely not." Ritsuka snorted. "Someone who knew he was a Fighter, no doubt, and did everything to prevent him from escaping or using a spell."

"A strangulation spell killed him." Soubi added.

"How fun, how fun!" Yoji clapped his hands. "Normally Mikado dispels these kinds of incidents, but it's your case since it's _your_ territory." He grinned evilly. "You're going to let us help… _aren't you_ , Loveless?"

"Call me that again and I'll let Soubi use you as a target dummy."

Natsuo linked his arm with the green haired teen and sent a half playful glare Ritsuka's way.

"You wouldn't dare, Aoyagi."

"Try me."

They burst into laughter. Soubi cracked a smirk. He'd settle for Ritsuka and the twins' playful sociopathy for Seimei's war criminal psychopathy any day.


	5. Bathroom Breaks With Unwanted Guests

Dlbn: Hey everyone! Welcome to another chapter!

Nbld: Let's get cracking with the Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Cake for you both!

Promocat: I know right? XD

The DarkCat: Thanks! I'm used to seeing mostly romantic and hurt/comfort fics in Loveless, myself, but I've read a couple good mystery ones before here.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Loveless. Anything canon to it belongs to Yun Kouga. Any non-canon characters and Units are mine. I make no money from writing this!

Dedication: Today my friend Jimmy and his fiancé Dinah (I hope I spelled it right!) got married. Congrats to the happy couple. Saw him driving today. His suit matches his new car. I lol'd

Dedication 2: Today is sad for me because it is the one-year anniversary of my aunt dying in a car accident last year. I miss you, Moo, more than you'll ever know / 3

000

A week passed without further incident, and no one brought up Ritsuka working with the Sweepers and then suddenly leaving. Soubi's memory spell worked wonders, it really did. But no further incidents meant no further leads. Ritsuka was stuck. Nagisa was still analyzing the compound and had enlisted Kunugi to help in his free time. The killing method wasn't entirely unique, per say, but it was something. He could go through everyone that had been put on watch lists and executed by Gomon and he'd _still_ have a laundry list of suspects in the killing. He was seriously debating on breaking his moral code and asking _him_ for help, but the thought disgusted him. They may have been close at one point in time, but the Aoyagi brothers were polar opposites now. Ritsuka was tasked with enforcing the rules his brother swore to break. He knew he was only inducted into Septimal Moon as a foil to his brother, the only one that could take him on and _win_. Until now, he hadn't had to do so and, he hoped, he never would have to do it. It wasn't that he was afraid he'd lose, unconfident in Soubi's abilities as a Fighter, or just afraid to confront his brother. He just didn't want to end up having to kill him or, worse, break the little bit of peace that was between them. They had a mutual understanding. Seimei took residence in the outskirts of Kyoto with his Fighter, Nisei, and Ritsuka took his residence in the heart of Tokyo with Soubi. Neither would cross into one another's territories, except on rare occasions like school functions or Nisei's need to go shopping at specific stores. Ritsuka's range didn't go far, but Seimei's did, and the line was clear. If he ever went to see Seimei for something other than a confrontation, Soubi would have to stay home and Nisei would have to stand back. But since neither of them trusted their brother to keep the Fighters out of the way, they simply didn't interact outside of birthday wishes and holiday cards Ritsuka hid from his parents. Well, his mother. His father left forever ago with some young lady and her kid and didn't look back even once. Going to him meant crossing territory and essentially declaring war against the underground super power. He'd gained quite a following, almost cult-like in their worship for him and hatred of Septimal Moon. Ritsuka had himself, Septimal Moon, and the other Executioners. Mikado elected to stay out of Aoyagi affairs and land disputes, and Zero just were uninterested in general. Septimal Moon wanted to stay out of Seimei's way as well, so he was mostly on his own when it came to his brother and his bullshit. He didn't mind because it meant risking the lives of less people who didn't need to die.

"Osamu-chan asked if we wanted to go to Yokohama this weekend." Yuiko announced at lunch. "She said her father's job is having a company picnic!"

"I'll have to ask, but I'm sure it will be alright." Yayoi offered. "Ritsuka?"

"I'm in." He spoke without hesitation.

It would give him the chance to seek out information out there. Soubi wouldn't go, he never did, but that was fine. Ritsuka could handle keeping his ears open, eyes peeled, and keeping his friends and their families none the wiser.

"Alright!" Yuiko squealed. "Yuiko is excited!"

" _I'm_." Ritsuka corrected.

"I'm!" Yuiko repeated, giggling.

"You're wasting your time." Yaoi stated.

"I know. Habit."

Ritsuka took a sip from his milk as Yuiko blathered on about all the things she wanted to do in Yokohama. He'd have fun alright, but that didn't mean that he couldn't work in the meantime, right?

000

Soubi had been reluctant to stay home and agreed to follow at a safe distance without making it obvious. After all, Osamu's father was the Chief of Police of Kyoto. If anyone could catch him trailing them, it would be him or one of his coworkers. Ritsuka didn't need that headache, not with the Tamed Murder hanging over his head. Yoji and Natsuo were working in the shadows back in Gora to see what they could get and who they could pay off to give up information, so he was alright with Soubi taking time off to tail him. He could sense his Fighter keeping his distance amongst the crowd, but a part of him wanted him to just give up and join them. But unfortunately, they had to split ways for now. Osamu was waving happily from a picnic bench she was semi standing on.

"Hey, you made it!" She greeted.

"Well, look who it is." Her mother broke into a grin. "I never thought we'd see you again, Ritsuka-kun."

He smiled at her. "Oh, just _Ritsuka_ is fine, ma'am." He stated. "How could I stay away from my best friend?"

Osamu playfully slugged his shoulder. "In front of our friends, Ritsuka?" She teased. "I thought you had more manners than that. Now I'm embarrassed."

"I'm sorry." He fake-pouted, making her laugh and shove him.

Yuiko giggled behind her hand and though he was rolling his eyes, Yayoi was grinning a bit as well.

"Alright, you kids go enjoy yourself. The adults are going to talk about boring things." Osamu's father informed.

"Like the _murder_?" Osamu asked. "Seriously, guys, that must have been crazy. Having a dead body on campus? Creepy!"

"You should know. Seimei was found on ours, remember?" Ritsuka asked as they began to walk off towards the arcades.

"Oh…sorry…"

"It's fine. Death is just that. Death." He shrugged one shoulder. "Why dwell on it?"

"Well _someone's_ a little heartless." She nudged him.

"Are you two done flirting?" Yayoi asked. "You _have_ a boyfriend, Ritsuka."

"I'm well aware." Ritsuka huffed, smirking. "He doesn't mind, I assure you."

"I thought we were all on the same page that Ritsuka made the guy up?" Osamu laughed.

"No, we met him the other day!" Yuiko grinned. "I didn't want to say anything, Ritsuka-kun, but he's pretty cute."

He could feel Soubi blushing through their bond and laughed.

"Thanks."

"Yeah, you're a cute couple." Yayoi shrugged.

"Thanks." Now Ritsuka had his turn to blush. Their bond shimmered with Soubi's laughter. "But don't tell him any of that. His ego doesn't need to be stroked any more than it already is."

"Better be the only thing of his you're stroking if you get my drift." Osamu winked.

Ritsuka rolled his eyes. "No, we haven't done anything. He won't until I'm eighteen."

"How sweet." She laughed.

"Can we talk about something _other_ than Ritsuka's lack of a sex life?" Yayoi asked.

"How about _your_ lack of a sex life?" Ritsuka asked.

"That's Yuiko's problem." Osamu teased.

Yuiko flushed. "Y-You're silly, Osamu-chan…"

"How many times have I _told_ you?" She rolled her eyes. "Just call me Osamu."

"About as many times as I've told her to use _I_."

"Lost cause." Yayoi muttered.

Yuiko tapped him on the head. "Not funny, Yayoi-san."

"Sorry." He flushed and adjusted his glasses.

Ritsuka laughed as his ears involuntarily twitched at the familiar stinging ping of a battle system starting. It wasn't his and Soubi's, and he didn't recognize it. It probably wasn't anything major, just a scuffle between Units that didn't get along or friendly Units fighting to strengthen themselves, maybe preparing for a test. He didn't sense any malice, but he did feel his bond shimmer and twitch from Soubi calling him to make sure he was unharmed. He sent his own little signal back as he and his friends got in line for the carousel. The last thing he needed was Soubi to come rushing out of nowhere like a white knight on a horse to save his damsel in distress. Not that Ritsuka would _ever_ call himself a damsel. He could handle himself. But like most Sacrifices, he just preferred to let his Fighter do the dirty work for him instead. Not that he was lazy, because he'd do what he had to if Soubi didn't take over right away, but it was the principal of the thing.

"Hey, no homework talk on vacation." Osamu scolded his friends.

He found himself pulled back into the conversation he hadn't realized he'd zoned out of. Luckily, it didn't seem like any of them had noticed his zoning out. They got into the ride and rushed to find the horses they wanted for the short ride. Call it juvenile, but they each had a preference; a white stallion for Yayoi, a pink pony for Yuiko, a grey and purple racing horse for Osamu, and a blue prancing pony for Ritsuka. once they found what they wanted, though they had to spread out to do so, they got on and waited on the ride to start.

The ride went slowly, spinning in gently increasing speed to make the horses move around on their poles. Ritsuka heard kids laughing and squealing, and a toddler crying somewhere behind him, as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the ride. His ears twitched and his bond with Soubi tugged as he opened his eyes. He scanned the crowd, assuming he'd see Soubi somewhere amongst the people watching the ride or walking around near it. He blinked in confusion when he thought he saw a familiar face framed by long black hair in the crowd, but when the ride circled back, he didn't see them anymore. He craned his neck to look around, trying to see if he could spot the familiar figure again. He almost groaned when his eyes laid on the exact person he thought he had seen. They must have noticed they'd been spotted, because the man wiggled his fingers in his direction in a wave. Once the ride stopped, Ritsuka barely waited for his friends as he exited the ride. He went to where he'd seen the figure, only to find that he was gone.

"What's wrong?" Osamu asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Huh?" He asked. "Oh, nothing. I just thought I saw my father over here. So weird."

"Everyone has a twin, they say." Yayoi nodded once, adjusting his glasses.

"I'd be afraid to meet his twin." Ritsuka replied. "I'm going to go to the bathroom."

"We'll wait over by the Ferris wheel, then."

"Ferris wheel?" Yuiko went pale as Osamu pulled her along. "You know Yuiko hates heights!"

Ritsuka watched Yayoi sigh and trounce after them like a puppy. He waited until they were out of sight.

"I was wondering when you were going to show your face around here." Ritsuka greeted. "Akame Nisei." He turned and found the man he'd seen before leaning casually against the carousel fence behind him.

"Your friends aren't very observant." Nisei pointed out. "Almost ran into me on the way out, didn't say a word. How rude."

"Like you're one to lecture about one's rudeness." Ritsuka folded his arms over his chest. "Do you need something? Or did you just decide to say hello because this isn't my territory and I can't do anything about it?"

"I'm here with Mimuro." Nisei nodded towards a long line to a concession stand where his blonde friend was standing. "But convenient that I run into _you_ of all people." He smirked, fishing an envelope form his pocket. "He sends his regards, and his sorrow that he couldn't meet with you instead."

"He can shove both right up his ass." Ritsuka snatched the letter.

"Oh, feisty." Nisei chuckled. "The little murder at your school got you on edge _that_ much?"

Ritsuka's head shot up from looking at the letter as he tried to open it. He narrowed his eyes.

"How did you know about that…?" He asked.

"The news." Nisei stated as if he were an idiot. "It was broadcast everywhere. Naturally, your brother and I are _very_ interested. Death seems to follow you everywhere, heir _Executioner_."

Ritsuka glared, pocketing the letter and zipping up the jacket pocket it was in. "Keep your voice down." He ordered. "I sensed a fight earlier. Wasn't you, was it?"

"Why would I be busy _fighting_ when I'm here with my friend?" Nisei cocked his head. "I'm rather certain you know my battle signature, anyway."

"Right, wouldn't want to ruin your date with _work_ , right?"

Nisei almost growled, making Ritsuka laugh. A lot of people, particularly himself and Zero, were convinced there was more between him and the blonde than either was letting on, no matter how much the Fighter protested. The blush on the blonde's face was proof enough. But thanks to Seimei, nothing could come of that. There was no way he'd let someone _else_ hold Nisei's attention for more than a few seconds. He was rather vain like that. Vain and possessive. That sucked for Mimuro, since he was more in touch with his feelings and slightly more open about it than Nisei was.

"The joke has gotten rather old, _Loveless._ "

"You have no right to call me that."

Nisei snorted. "I will call you what I please."

"My, aren't you bold today." Ritsuka snorted. "I see my brother hasn't trained you to have any manners. For shame. Such a prideful man _failing_ on something so small and insignificant."

Nisei growled, corner of his lips lifting. "Watch it, you cocky little shit. I don't take kindly to being treated like a dog."

"By anyone that's not my brother, anyway." Ritsuka egged him on.

Nisei looked ready to either swing or shoot a spell at him, but he relaxed a little about the same time that Ritsuka felt Soubi's presence behind him.

"Back down, Akame." Soubi ordered.

He snorted. "Yokohama is neutral territory." He commented. "I don't have to listen to, or take shit from, _either_ of you."

"But you're also not going to go after me because Seimei would have your ass."

"Just not in the way you're hoping."

Nisei glared, balling up his fists. "I'm out of here. Read the letter, Aoyagi." He pushed through the two males.

"Letter?" Soubi asked, watching the dark Fighter retreat towards Mimuro to make sure he didn't turn last minute and do something.

"From Seimei." Ritsuka unzipped his pocket and handed Soubi the letter. "We'll read it tonight. Don't open it."

"Hai." Soubi nodded once, kissing him on the temple. "Your friends are waiting for you. Don't want to keep them too long."

"Right." Ritsuka nodded. "Stick to the shadows, stay out of sight."

"I'll trail Akame for a little while, just to make sure he isn't up to anything he shouldn't be."

"He's on a date."

Soubi snorted. "As if."

Ritsuka had to laugh as he watched the blonde retreat. He turned and walked through the crowds towards the Ferris wheel.

"What _took_ you?" Osamu asked.

"Long line." Ritsuka replied. "Come on, let's go before it's time to eat. We don't want Yuiko throwing up in the cart again."

Her ears flattened. "That wasn't funny…" She complained.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it to be." Yayoi assured her, hand on her shoulder.

The fact that he almost had to stand on his toes to do so made it less comforting and more comical than anything.

"Let's go." Osamu grabbed Ritsuka by the wrist. "No more extra-long potty breaks, Aoyagi."

"Alright, alright." Ritsuka laughed, letting her lead him to the line.

Hopefully Akame would be the only unexpected excitement he had to deal with on this trip.


	6. Tourist Destination, Not Battle Grounds

Dlbn: Here I am, everyone! Another chapter coming right at your face.

Nbld: That doesn't sound quite right.

Dlbn: Don't be difficult, Fluffy.

Nbld: No more YuGiOh Abridged for you.

Dlbn: Watched the Netflix Death Note movie. If you haven't seen it…it's worth the laugh. *Shrug*

Nbld: Better. Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Apples and pumpkins for you both!

Promocat: I feel like Ritsuka just wants to be a normal kid, and to relive the experiences he missed out on because of his memory loss.

The DarkCat: Thank you! Nisei is my favorite secondary character, if you couldn't tell ^^" Any involvement he may or may not have with the murders won't be revealed until later.

Disclaimer: I won nothing but the plot and on-canon people/units. Everything else belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off writing this. I'm just a broke, lonely Loveless fan who's realized that by the time Kouga finishes Loveless, KH III will never come out.

000

Eating lunch with his friends around noon, Ritsuka couldn't help but feel his ears twitch and the hair on his arm stand. He noticed his friends were acting a little odd as well, as if their fight or flight responses were building as well. There was a slight ringing in his ears that meant a battle was starting nearby, but once again he didn't recognize the battle signatures. His and Soubi's was a gentle ping, and Seimei and Akame's was like a throbbing blow to the head, so he knew it was neither of them. The officers around them didn't seem to be reacting, but he saw one or two of them looking out of the corner of their eyes in one direction. He followed their gazes with his eyes but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. It wasn't like any of them were Units, that he knew of, so what was it that was disturbing them? He heard some screams and saw a little crowd of people pushing away from the arcade area of the park. The officers all stood almost as one and ran to see what was going on. Ritsuka stood.

"Come on." He stated. "Something's going on."

"We're supposed to run _away_ from danger, Ritsuka-kun." Yuiko bit her nails nervously. "L-Let the police go into the line of fire…"

"Are you kidding me?" Osamu asked, standing. "I'm with Ritsuka. I love to see my dad at work. This is going to be good. Come on. The police won't let anyone hurt us even if we get close."

"B-But…" Yuiko protested.

"You guys go. I'll stay here with Yuiko-chan." Yayoi offered. "If we need to run, I can't, so…"

"Alright, stay here. Come on, Osamu."

She nodded. "Right."

She chased after him as he sprinted towards where the police were. Someone grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Ritsuka." Soubi's voice greeted.

The raven stopped and turned to see him. "Oh, hey." He greeted. "What's going on?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing, kitten." Soubi replied.

"Who's this?" Osamu wondered. "Your boyfriend?"

"Very good, miss." He smiled gently.

"Wow, Yuiko was right. He's pretty cute."

Soubi flushed as Ritsuka laughed.

"I _told_ you not to say anything in front of him." Though he knew he'd already overheard. "We're going to see what's going on. Come on."

Soubi nodded, letting go of his arm and joining the friends.

"How old is he?" Osamu whispered. "He can't be in high school."

"Twenty-four." Ritsuka replied.

"Well then." She giggled. "Ritsuka has a thing for older guys. Good to know." She winked.

He nudged her playfully. A line of cops stood blocking curious people from getting too close to whatever was going on. Ritsuka's ears twitched as he picked up the sounds of police shouting orders to someone, probably who or whatever people had been running from just moments ago.

"Do you see anything?" He asked Soubi, who could easily see over the heads of the civilians in the way.

"Looks like a fight." Soubi commented. "I can't tell who, though."

"Hm…" Ritsuka tapped his foot. "Our jurisdiction?"

He nodded. "You couldn't tell?"

"I was hoping I was mistaken."

Osamu stood on her toes, trying to see between two of the shorter police officers. "I can't see anything." She pouted. "But I sure can hear."

"How boring." Ritsuka complained, folding his arms across his chest.

"Careful, Ritsuka, or I might mistake you for one of our colleagues."

"If you ever mistake me for either of them, I'm having you locked in a ward." He glared.

Soubi chuckled, ruffling his hair between his neko ears. Osamu didn't seem to notice their exchange or listen to their words as she climbed onto a picnic table.

"Woah, you've got to see this." She offered Ritsuka a hand.

He took it and let her hoist him up to stand with her. Two people stood facing one another, one person slightly in front of another. Ritsuka recognized the battle formation right away. The two Units he didn't recognize either. On the left was a redheaded female Fighter and a teal-haired male Sacrifice, and on the right was a Unit of both males, one blonde and one orange-haired.

"Unfamiliar." He told Soubi.

"Some kind of turf war maybe?" Osamu asked.

"I'm not sure." Ritsuka replied.

"Stop what you're doing!" Osamu's father called to the feuding Units. "Innocent people are going to get hurt."

The only female snorted. "You'd think." She complained, rolling her eyes.

Neither Fighter made a move as their Sacrifices stared one another down. Ritsuka wasn't going to say anything and just let the battle play out, but he was slightly irked. Why were they fighting in public where people could see them? First rule of battle, don't get found. If he wasn't worried about outing himself as well, he'd call out a Septimal Moon order to cease and desist. Before he was aware of it, a spell was tumbling from the female's mouth, and a spell shot out towards the officers.

"Soubi!" Ritsuka ordered.

"Defense!" Soubi called out.

The spell deflected off what seemed like air. Osamu cocked an eyebrow at the lovers but didn't say anything. No one seemed to notice what was going on over the sounds of the male Fighter retorting against the female and the police barking orders. Ritsuka was certain no one was carrying a weapon, but he didn't want to risk it.

"We have to stop this." He told Soubi, offering him a hand to be helped off the table.

"Right behind you." Soubi promised.

"Are you crazy?" Osamu asked, jumping down. "Don't go over there!"

"I'll be fine." Ritsuka gave her a reassuring smile. "I've got Soubi."

She protested again, but he was already leaving to deal with the situation. He inched around a small gap in the cops produced by them cowering from the spell sent at them. No one tried to stop him, which unnerved him a little. Had they been paralyzed by a spell when he didn't realize it? One of the Fighters could have muttered one after the attack on the off-duty officers. This was unacceptable. It was one thing if they fought in public, another if they turned on civilians; let alone the frigging _police_.

Ritsuka finally broke through the police line.

"Cease and desist!" He ordered, Soubi on his heels.

The Units stopped fighting and looked at him, but he could still feel their battle signatures in the air. No one around them moved. Ritsuka shook his head.

"A paralyzing spell?" He wondered. "I wonder which one of you managed to do _that_ while we weren't looking."

"You're unaffected?" The Sacrifice of the dual gender team wondered.

"No shit." Ritsuka folded his arms over his chest and stood in a defensive position. "I've had about enough. These are civilians you are harming, you know, not other Units. This isn't the Academy."

"Who are you?" The other Sacrifice asked.

"Name's Loveless. Perhaps you've heard of me."

The Units shared looks with their respective partners.

"Executioner." The female Fighter stated aloud.

The others looked nervous now, systems deactivating without saying anything and looking at anywhere but him.

"Names. Now."

No one spoke.

"I don't believe that was a suggestion." Soubi informed them. "You know better than to refuse an answer to a member of Septimal Moon."

"Maybe we just have to battle it out of them." Ritsuka waved his hand.

"Shameless." The female blurted.

Her Sacrifice glared at her and sighed. "Yeah, that's us." He informed.

"And you?" Ritsuka looked to the other Unit.

They shared a look before turning to look at him and speaking as one. "Hidden."

Soubi and Ritsuka shared a look. Neither were on their list for testing purposes, but Ritsuka knew one of them had ties to Tamed.

"And this battle was over what? Practice?"

"Territory…" The male of the dual team muttered.

"I see…and you think a territorial dispute is appropriate in front of civilians? You should all be ashamed. You know the rules. In the dark, in the shadows; don't get caught." Ritsuka scolded. "And yet, here you are, casting spells on off-duty police officers and scaring everyone within a five-mile radius. This is a tourist destination, not your battle grounds."

"You're lucky neither of you are on our list or we may have to settle this right here." Soubi pointed out. "But perhaps my Sacrifice will be _generous_ about it today."

"You've caught me in a descent mood." He shrugged one shoulder. "I suppose I can overlook this, to a degree."

"Thank you." Both teams bowed.

"Sorry for the inconvenience…" The Hidden Sacrifice muttered.

Ritsuka nodded. "Don't let it happen again. You're lucky it was me that caught you and not one of my colleagues. They have even lower tolerances for rule breaking and other _shit_ of this sort." He snorted. "We are done here. Whoever cast the spell on civilians, end it."

"It will take at least twenty minutes to wear off…" The girl trailed.

"I _said_ end it."

"R-Reverse…" She muttered. "The effect won't be instant…"

"That's fine. I have matters to discuss with my Fighter, anyway."

Both Units started to leave.

"Shameless. I need a word with you, as well."

They froze in place as Hidden left, snickering.

"I'm sorry I attacked civilians. They were going to get in the way. At least all I did was freeze them, I…" She started to excuse her actions.

"Enough." Her Sacrifice ordered. "What can we help you with, Executioner?"

"Tamed." Ritsuka stated, noting how his ears flattened. "The body of one of the members was found at my school. What do you know about it?"

"Nothing!" The girl protested. "Which one was it?"

"Fighter, we're assuming." Soubi informed.

"Kaji?" The male wondered. "He was my neighbor growing up. We played together all the time, even after learning our fates."

"The Sacrifice is still MIA, but it appears that _Kaji_ was restricted, possibly abducted." Ritsuka informed. "Any idea who might have it out for them?"

"No idea." The male scratched at his bangs. "He hated battling, so it's not like he attacked someone and pissed them off. He's a pacifist."

Ritsuka snorted. "As am I, believe it or not, yet I know when to fight and when to back down."

"A pacifist Executioner?" The male snorted. "Pardon if I find that hard to believe, Loveless."

"Believe it or not; that isn't my problem." Ritsuka scowled. "He has no enemies that you know of, then. His Sacrifice?"

"Akito?" The girl asked. "She pisses off people left and right. But mostly civilians. I can't think of a Unit that would have wanted to hurt her. _Or_ Kaji."

"How do you know that a Unit killed him? All we said was murder." Soubi pointed out.

She flushed. "Septimal Moon doesn't waste their time investigating murders by civilians, regardless of the status of the victim. And even if they did, the Executioners have better things to do than handle it themselves."

Ritsuka considered that. "Any Units come to mind?"

"Well…er…" The male rubbed the back of his neck.

" _What_? You're in hot water as is. Don't hide shit from me."

"Well…she…er…did make an enemy of…um…Beloved…"

"The murder wasn't my brother's style, but I appreciate the hint." Ritsuka snorted. "Anyone else? I'd rather investigate all other leads before trouncing into Beloved territory like a fool."

"I can't think of anyone…though you might want to speak with Hostile." He tapped his chin. "They were closer to Tamed than we were, I'm sad to say."

"And the Sacrifice?"

"She never travels too far from home." The female pulled a notepad out of her pocket and opened it, scribbling something down for him. "She'll kill me for this, but I'm sure she wants to know who did it just as badly as you do." She handed him the paper with an address on it. "She works until four on weekends, so if you wait until after six, you're going to be able to catch her at home. Without Kaji, I doubt she's going to be going out anywhere any time soon."

"I'm surprised she didn't say anything to us about him being missing." The male sighed. "I know we're not close to her much, but he's been my best friend since we were kids. If he was in danger, and I could help, I'd like to know…"

"I'll be sure to pass on the sentiment." Ritsuka deadpanned. "But that's not my problem. Perhaps she didn't know?"

"They're in constant contact. Unless their bond was severed, she'd know he needed her. He'd call. He may be a pacifist, but he's no fool." The male growled. "He'd call her even if it meant initiating a fight."

"Now that I know you're around, I'll be certain to track you down again should I have any more questions. Unless you'd prefer to give me your address so I don't have to hunt you down like dogs." Ritsuka informed.

The girl took back the piece of paper and wrote her name and address. "Unless I'm out with him, I'm home around four every day from school."

The male took it and muttered something to himself as he wrote down his information.

"I have classes until noon Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and work two to seven. Classes six pm to eight pm Tuesdays and Thursdays and work nine to four." He informed. "Otherwise, you can find me home. I put down my work address too, should you need it. But, please, try not to if you can help it…"

"I'll consider it." Ritsuka took the paper. "If there's anything else you can think of, seek me out. I'm located in Tokyo. You'll find me if you really want to."

"No address? We gave you ours."

"I can't have you around my house with my mother around." Ritsuka snorted. "Besides, I'm an Executioner. That information falling into the wrong hands would be…problematic for me, to say the least."

"Understood." The girl nodded.

"Now get going." Ritsuka ordered. "Thank you for your cooperation."

They nodded and rushed off together.

"We didn't get much." Soubi sighed.

"Some is better than none." Ritsuka replied. "If Akame is still around, I want to question him. He's off his turf."

"I'll handle it. Your friends will wonder where you've gotten off to."

"Speaking of, do a little clean up, would you? Make them think they saw a street performance or something."

"As you wish." Soubi kissed his knuckles. "I won't keep you any longer. Stay safe."

"You, as well."

Soubi bowed and walked off in one direction, leaving Ritsuka to push his way back to Osamu. He found her on top of the picnic table, hands cupped around her mouth as if she was shouting when she was frozen. The entire area seemed as if it were asleep. The girl's battle range was large. If they had fought as intended, people probably would have been caught in the crossfire. He shuddered at the thought. That was one thing they couldn't explain with a simple memory replacement. He got back onto the table and stood, waiting for the spell to wear off as he checked his watch. It looked like he had another ten minutes, if the girl's twenty-minute thing was true. He wasn't certain. No one could time a spell's duration with accuracy. After all, more than half of Septimal Moon's members told him that Akame's spell may never wear off and he may never get his memory back, but here he was, back to his old self and filled with memories of his past. It was part of the reason he despised Seimei so much now. He'd put him through a lot of hellish training as kids and made life pretty difficult for him before his memory loss. Though he'd changed that and been his brother's protector, guardian, and teacher, as soon as Ritsuka began being his old self again, Seimei was right back to his old tricks. He wouldn't say he outright _hated_ his brother, but his view of him was certainly tainted. Seimei had no one to blame but himself, yet he blamed everyone else. Of course. Why would he accept the blame? He was Aoyagi Seimei. He was _perfect_. Ritsuka had to laugh at that notion. Try as he might be to be a god, he wasn't one.

Osamu started to stir about the same time everyone else did. Surprisingly, the girl must have known her spells well enough to time them like that. Impressive, if he wasn't annoyed with the Units. Fighting in public. What were they _thinking_? Osamu cheered as if she'd seen a good show and turned to Ritsuka, grinning.

"Can you believe Yuiko and Yayoi didn't want to come see that?" Osamu laughed. "That was pretty good. They had me going with the screaming crowds."

"Must have been a special surprise for the police or something." Ritsuka grinned. "I knew they were overreacting by wanting to stay behind."

They got off the picnic table while the officers clapped for the _performance_ they'd witnessed. Returning to his other friends, Ritsuka internally smirked. At least he'd gotten information from Shameless. How he just had to track down the Fighter.


	7. We're Not Here About Your Test

Dlbn: Hey everyone! Bringing you a new chapter after a long two-day vacation and in the middle of a work day fueled by two hours of sleep, Reese's and Pepsi.

Nbld: Stayed with my fiancé's family in NYC to go to comic con. I met Quniton Flynn (Axel from Kingdom Hearts, Reno from FF VII, et al.) so it was a great time.

Dlbn: But now home and working both jobs today. Got home at two am, had work at 8 am. Got maybe two hours of sleep by the time I unpacked and all that fun post-vacation stuff.

Nbld: But we won't bother you with further details. Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Con swag for you both! *tosses you free stuff*

Promocat: Very true. I feel like if civilians (non-Fighter/Sacrifices) found out, there would be a witch hunt of some sort. I have an AU plotline where in the future they're exposed and shit hits the fan XD

The DarkCat: Her parents weren't mentioned at all. She wasn't even in much since she was a side story. I just needed a character for a fic regarding Seimei's case and I thought, eh, I'll throw Osamu's dad in. give her family a little time. Soubi's main job, other than protecting Ritsuka, is keeping everything hidden when it's close to coming out. I can't believe he's not asleep all the time. That has to be a lot of work!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and non-canon characters that you recognize around here as Shameless, Tamed, Masked, etc. Everything canon belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off writing this.

000

Osamu's father dropped Ritsuka off about an hour before his curfew. His mother was out with friends again, so he used this bond to call Soubi and waited on the corner for him to arrive. The blonde pulled up in a white two door car and rolled down the window, smirking.

"Need a lift?" He asked.

"Baka." Ritsuka replied, opening the car door and slipping in. "You borrowed Kio's car again?"

"He's out of town for a gallery." Soubi stated. "He said I can use it if I need to. I happen to just be the right amount of too lazy to walk around."

Ritsuka laughed. "Got the address in the GPS?"

"It's close to the border."

"Border?"

"Of your territory with your brother."

Ritsuka's ears flattened. "We'll just have to tread lightly."

Soubi nodded. "Do you think they might be involved?"

"Hand me the letter." Ritsuka ordered, holding out his hand. "I can't say for sure, but I guess we can't ignore it now that they've been named."

Soubi nodded, flipping on the left turn signal. Ritsuka opened the letter and, with a sigh, unfolded it to read.

 _My dearest Ritsuka,_

 _I do hope you are faring well. It's been far too long since we've seen one another last, let alone exchanged words. I know you're not one for formalities, and neither am I, honestly. I will make this brief. Nisei and I have been made aware of the…situation…at your school regarding the deceased sensei. I offer my sympathy, though I am not certain he was one of yours. We made note of the Sweepers in the area, which means this is likely spell related. They wouldn't come for anything else. I hope you are alright. This hit a little too close to home, I'm certain you can agree. I'm also certain that specific people in your_ Organization _are going to point the blame to me first, yet again. I assure you, I have nothing to do with this. I didn't even know any faculty at your school even_ was _part of our world. And if I knew, I certainly wouldn't draw attention to you by killing one, let alone leaving their body at your school. Tread lightly, my Ritsuka. I don't want you to get hurt._

 _Adieu,_

 _Seimei_

"Nothing major." Ritsuka sighed, crumpling it up. "Just saying he saw the news and proclaiming his innocence."

"He's certain he's going to be blamed."

"Nagisa flat out blamed him the other day, asking if I was going to see him. I can see where he's coming from, but if he expects sympathy or pity from me, he's not going to get it. He brought this on himself."

"Agreed." Soubi nodded once. "There isn't much that can be done about it now. Even if there was, I doubt anyone would listen. He's caused too much damage already."

Such as blinding Ritsu-sensei when he got out of line and made an offhand comment about Ritsuka, making Akame rape Mikado, cut her hair, and take her ears. Not to mention all the things he'd done against his brother directly, claiming everything he did was _for_ him, not against him. Ritsuka called bullshit on that one. Seimei knew his brother would be hurt. He just didn't care.

"He just needs something to complain about. King of Bitching, Zero calls him."

"I'm aware. I was there."

Ritsuka chuckled. "I suppose you were." He paused. "Do we look official enough? I didn't change when I got home."

"You look fine." Soubi stated.

"You always think I do."

"I promise, you look professional. This isn't for a test; this is information retrieval. She may not even know he's dead, just missing."

"Can't Sacrifices and Fighters feel their partner die, their bond breaking?"

"In most cases. However, I felt my bond with Seimei end, and he was very much alive."

"Yet you still followed his orders when he came back."

"I couldn't help it…"

Ritsuka sighed. "No use in dredging up the past now, Soubi. We're over that garbage, now, aren't we? I refuse to go to my grave jealous of my _brother_ , when it's pretty obvious who you've chosen to serve."

"Damn straight." Soubi kissed his knuckles.

Ritsuka chuckled. "Looks like we'll be there in half an hour." He reclined his seat. "I'm going to rest, if you don't mind. My friends take a lot out of me…"

"Go ahead. I'll wake you at the halfway mark so you're not half asleep when we get there."

Ritsuka nodded, turning in his seat to get comfortable as his eyes slid shut. Hopefully this wasn't just a dead end.

000

Akito's house was one side of a light brown townhouse near the outskirts of the city. It reminded Ritsuka of a smaller version of the house he had grown up in. There was no fence and the lawn was nicely trimmed. Two large Cyprus trees lined the walkway near the sidewalk, leaves falling to the ground as the wind blew lightly. It looked like the other side was vacant, if not for the car parked on that driveway. Ritsuka led Soubi up the cobblestone walkway to the side Akito lived on, with a door with 34 painted on it in bright red. The windows were trimmed in white and the curtains were drawn, so there was no way to tell fi the Sacrifice was even home. Ritsuka rang the doorbell. He watched the curtains shift and gave a small smile and a wave at the person behind them. They soon vanished and the door opened, a thin chain connecting one side of the door to the door jam on the inside. A fuchsia-haired woman answered, green eyes glinting with distrust. Ritsuka felt her power up.

"You can deactivate." Ritsuka said. "We're not here to hurt you."

"Bullshit." She sounded like she was only around Ritsuka's age.

"I'm Loveless. We're investigating Kaji's case?"

She glared before shutting the door. He heard the chain come out of place and the door opened. Though she sounded like a teenager, he had a feeling she wasn't.

"Come on in…you're an Executioner, aren't you?"

"I am." He nodded, entering the home, Soubi behind him.

"I know I should have reported to Septimal Moon that he was missing. I didn't want to miss the test; I thought I'd find him by now, I swear. But…"

"Calm down. I'm not here about your test."

Her neko ears twitched. "You're not? Then why are you here?"

"You don't know where he is, do you?"

"You do…?" She sat down in a fluffy arm chair. "I'm guessing you do or you wouldn't be asking me like that."

He nodded. "I'm sorry. Regretfully, he has been located."

"He's dead…isn't he…"

"I'm sorry."

She didn't speak for a few moments, hiding her face in her hands. She sniffled a little but her eyes were clear when she looked up at him.

"You're here to assign me a blank or tell me to deactivate completely, aren't you…?"

"I'm afraid not."

"We suspect foul play." Soubi interjected.

"You think he was murdered?" Her anger was almost like webbing dancing on the Executioner's skin. "I can't believe someone would hurt him…how did he die…?"

"We think he was tied up and prevented from casting somehow. He was injected with an unknown substance. It appears a strangulation spell was used."

She didn't say anything. It seemed like she was in shock over it all.

"You're certain?" She asked after a good five minutes or so.

Ritsuka nodded. "Unfortunately, we are certain." He confirmed. "I'm sorry. Do you know anyone that might have done something like this?"

"Just…well…I don't want to say his name…" She shuddered, hugging herself. "It feels like just saying it would summon him somehow."

Soubi snorted. "I've often thought that, myself."

Ritsuka hushed him. "My brother is on the suspect list, as he is with any murder. Anyone else you can think of?"

"Um…we had a fight with Flightless, and they were pretty pissed about losing, but I doubt they'd go as far as to _kill_ someone."

"Be careful with assumptions." Ritsuka warned. "After all, I believed my brother wouldn't either."

She flushed. "I'm sorry…it can't be easy…being his brother and knowing what he's done…"

He shrugged. "My loyalty belongs to Septimal Moon."

Silence feel between the trio for a few moments.

"I can't think of anyone else, I'm sorry. I feel so useless." She started to sniffle.

"Don't cry." Soubi handed her a box of tissues from her coffee table. "You've given us more than most."

"Thanks." She blew her nose. "I'm sorry I can't be of further use. But, please, I need to make funeral arrangements. I…I don't have any family in the area, and his could care less about his existence. When can I have the body?"

"We can release him within the next few weeks." Ritsuka promised. "We can't release the body too early in case we need to go back for more evidence. It's not easy for us to exhume a body."

She smiled gently. "I guess there are some things even Septimal Moon can't do, huh?"

Ritsuka didn't have more to say on the subject as he gave her his contact information. "If you think of anything more or hear of anything, let me know, alright? I'm taking the lead on this case."

"I'm sorry this happened in your territory." She held the card between two fingers between her knees. "I know I couldn't have prevented it, and he wouldn't have let me be put in harm's way, but if I had an idea that something was happening…"

"This type of thing is often unpredictable." Ritsuka stood, Soubi following suit. "If there's one thing I've learned over the years of dealing with my brother and cleaning up his messes, never _expect_ anything."

She showed them out at that, apologizing once again. Ritsuka heard her sobbing as the door shut. He sighed and looked up at Soubi.

"I hate this part…"

"As do I." He took his hand and kissed his temple. "It gets easier over time, kitten."

"You keep saying that, Soubi, but somehow I doubt even you believe it."

Soubi smiled softly. "Who knows?" He asked. "Come on, you can spend the night at my place if you want."

Ritsuka wiggled his eyebrows at him.

"Not yet." Soubi whispered. "I promise…once you're eighteen…" His hand gently gripped at Ritsuka's backside, teasingly.

Ritsuka blushed, biting his lower lip. 'Hentai." He giggled. "But I suppose I'm just as bad as you."

"No, worse."

"You think?"

"Oh, most definitely."

"Well thank you for the vote of confidence."

Soubi opened the door for Ritsuka to get in. "My pleasure." He smirked, shutting the door behind him.

As the car pulled away from the curbside, the neko sighed. Another Unit they had to track down. Just great. As if his list of duties wasn't long enough already.


	8. A Lack of Documentation

Dlbn: Hey everyone! Welcome to another chapter!

Nbld: Never been so happy to be at work. Freedom to write, post, edit, update, and just _relax_ without my annoying semi-roommate that I'm trying to kick out. She broke my shower head and my laptop (friend gave me her old shower head and another friend fixed my laptop) and I'm beyond pissed.

Dlbn: Let's move on, though. No one wants to hear our problems, and we've got a fun chapter ahead.

Nbld: Oh, next week the update will be SUNDAY because I have my niece's birthday party to go to in NYC on Saturday, which means no work, which means no WiFi.

Dlbn: Sad but we will survive.

Nbld: Review Corner! Thank you Promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Candy and other sugary foods for you both!

Promocat: I feel like even in the manga, they'd come to love and trust one another after all the dust settles, so to speak. But honestly, I think it would be Soubi wanting to go further and Ritsuka holding off.

The DarkCat: Thanks! Next chapter coming right up!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Loveless or anyone/anything canon. That all belongs to Yun Kouga. Everything non-canon is mine. I make no money from this.

000

Ritsuka was corned by a girl he didn't recognize at school the following day. He could sense something was off and, from the way she carried herself, she was probably a Sacrifice.

"May I assist you?" He asked.

"You're Loveless, aren't you? Septimal Moon's number Six?"

"That would be me, hai." Ritsuka nodded. "You know who I am but…who am I speaking to?"

"Faithless." She informed. "Tsukai Mako."

"A pleasure."

"Thank you."

"Now I know you didn't approach me just to introduce yourself." Ritsuka cocked an eyebrow at her.

"No, I didn't." She hugged herself. "Is it true? Was that missing Sensei…was he really a Fighter? And now he's…dead…?"

"That's correct, yes." He took a more formal stance. "Why do you ask?"

She shook her head. "I just can't believe it." She stated. "He was my sensei and I never knew he was one of us, you know? I wish I had had more of a chance to bond with him before…you know…" she swallowed hard. "Are you leading the investigation, Loveless?"

"I am." He nodded. "I can't give you any details."

"I wasn't going to ask for any." She shook her head. "The other day, though, before he vanished? He got a call from the office. Some guy was here to see him. I don't know who he was, but sensei went pale. There was this rumor going around that it was a secret boyfriend or an angry father but…could it have been one of us…? And we didn't sense it?"

Ritsuka shrugged one shoulder. "Some Fighters have an uncanny ability to hide their auras to the point that they barely exist in the first place."

"Yours doesn't show often, but I know you're a Sacrifice. Your Fighter is the older one, everyone knows that."

He nodded. "I suppose so." A pause. "Did you ever see the person that came for him?"

"No." She shook her head. "He said to have them wait in the parking lot outside and he'd meet them. Our classroom was out towards the back, so we couldn't get a glimpse. By the time I passed a window to the lot again, there was no one there, and Sensei didn't report in for the rest of the day. We should have said something, but they sent a substitute so everyone thought it was a family related thing or something else important was going on."

"I see." Ritsuka nodded. "Anything else you can give me? Was he acting strange before that? Or was this the first…?"

"No, nothing I can think of." She shook her head. "Everything was fine. He was the same old cheery sensei he always was." She shrugged one shoulder. "We had one test coming up he was excited for because every 'e' answer was a joke and he wanted to try and make us laugh. It was funny, I admit, but…"

"The humor was lost thanks to his disappearance."

"When the school didn't even know what was going on, that's when we knew something was wrong. Then my dad read in the paper that a sensei from our school was missing under suspicious circumstances and…well…"

"I understand. What paper did he read it in? Perhaps I might be able to find a clue there."

"They won't reveal their sources, even to Septimal Moon, if there's anyone working there from our world. I highly doubt it, though, really." She shrugged one shoulder. "But it was Tokyo Sun."

He nodded. "I'll keep a mental note of that, then."

"Thanks…just…please…find whoever did this. He was a nice guy. A little strange, but a nice guy. He didn't deserve this…"

"I will do what I can."

"Thank you. I appreciate it. Although, outside of our world, no one will know it was you, they'd appreciate it as well."

He nodded. "Understood. I'll see you around, Faithless."

"You too, Loveless."

"Oh, one more question before you go." He called after her.

"Yes?"

"Ever heard of a team called Flightless?"

"I…can't say I have. My Fighter may have, though. He goes to the academy still. Comes here on weekends and days off to visit me. His family doesn't really care if he doesn't come home, honestly, as sad as that is."

"It's rather true for a lot of people in our world, I'm afraid. Myself included."

"I'm sorry."

He shrugged and handed her a card with his information on it. "Call or text me with anything you learn from him, even if it's nothing."

"You got it." She slipped it into her pocket and joined the rest of the students rushing to class.

He soon found himself whisked off into the crowds by Yuiko.

"Ritsuka-kun, we're going to be late." She stated. "Who was that?"

"Oh, her sister was friends with my brother."

"Oh, okay." Yuiko smiled gently. "It's nice that your brother had so many friends."

Anyone that came to bother him on Word Spell business he explained away to his friends as being a friend of his brother or somehow related to someone who was friends with him. While it was a lie, it helped explain why a bunch of dejected teenagers and people older than them up to their late thirties were bothering him.

"Yeah, it is. Too bad none of them could have stopped what happened."

"I don't think anyone could have." Yayoi informed him, smiling gently. "I'm sorry to say."

"It's alright." Ritsuka looked at his watch. "We have a minute left until the bell."

"Oh no." Yuiko pulled him, running. "Let's go before we're late!"

"Y-Yuiko!" Yayoi chased after them as Ritsuka struggled to keep on his feet and match pace with the long legged pinkette.

000

There was nothing in Septimal Moon records about a team named Flightless. It was likely they went rogue or they gave a false name when they fought Tamed. By Sunday, the girl at school got back to Ritsuka and let him know that her Fighter knew no one by that name but would keep an eye out just in case. Considering the Fighter was an academy student and Septimal Moon had no record of them, he wasn't all that surprised. Still, he combed through files and files of registrants Nana emailed over to him, along with his own records of tested units and units to be tested. Zero shared what information they could with him, but Mikado wasn't willing to tell him anything. Tokino texted him a promise he'd get her to share her findings and that until then, he'd provide any information or backup he needed. Ritsuka didn't give him too much merit. He wouldn't do anything to risk upsetting Mikado or landing himself in the dog house. And she claimed he and Soubi were pathetic on the romantic front. Sure, whatever helped her sleep at night.

Soubi had late classes with Kio, so he was too busy to help sift through paperwork and useless information. Ritsuka didn't mind. He liked peace and quiet sometimes, and Soubi was almost always all over him when they were alone. He understood why the blonde wanted to wait until he was eighteen to take his ears, but at the same time, he didn't understand why Soubi didn't just jump him already. He had plenty of opportunities to do so, and Ritsuka practically threw himself at him on holidays and their birthdays, but nothing ever came of it. Not too much of a surprise. The blonde was as stubborn and headstrong as he was. He could have ordered him to do it, but that felt a little too close to rape for his liking. Ritsuka sighed, removing his reading glasses he barely used unless he had a headache, and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. The only lead he had was coming up empty, and he didn't like it one bit. He toyed with the idea in his mind a few times of reaching out to his brother and taking the offered assistance and support, but in his heart, he knew he'd sooner die. If Seimei wanted to help so badly, he'd send Akame again or contact him himself.

His phone buzzed and he answered without looking.

"Loveless." He greeted.

No one ever called him unless it was for something in his world spell world he needed to know or something Septimal Moon related. Or just Zero goofing around.

"It's Yoji." A voice greeted.

"I figured as much. What do you have for me?"

"Flightless was a Unit at one point. The lack of records can be easily explained, but Nagisa insisted I do not do it over the phone."

"Then how are you getting the information to me, then?" He leaned back, twirling a pen between his fingers. "Don't tell me she plans on dragging me up to Gora just for one little piece of information."

"There's a Septimal Moon meeting Sunday night. Ritsu insists on briefing everyone about what's gone on so far and getting findings." Natsuo must have taken the phone from his partner. "I can't remember the last time the Executioners were present for something as simple and trivial as a Septimal Moon meeting."

"Not to be an ass, Natsuo, but you do realize that three fourths of the members of the Executioners _are_ Septimal Moon, correct?"

Natsuo flushed. "You know what I mean. We're never there, Yoji and me."

"Once when Ritsuka was inducted." Yoji piped up.

"Twice. First when I was inducted into Septimal Moon, and second as an Executioner." Ritsuka corrected.

"Shut up, know it all." Yoji ordered, and Ritsuka could almost feel the greenette rolling his eyes.

"Better know it all than know nothing."

"He's got you there." Natsuo agreed.

"Shut up, Natsuo."

Ritsuka laughed. "I'm glad you two found something. I've got nothing with a side of none."

"Figures. You're kind of useless sometimes."

"Shut up, Zero."

They all laughed again. Ritsuka heard his mother shout to get off the phone _or else_ and sighed.

"Mother wants me off the phone. I don't understand how she doesn't question where it even came from."

"Probably thinks it was your brother or your father."

"Or you stole it." Yoji laughed.

"If she thought that, Yoji, she'd beat me for it."

"More than she already does?"

"Yoji!" Natsuo scolded.

Ritsuka ignored the laughter and how much the comment _stung_ as he said his goodbyes and hung up the phone. Stupid, insensitive Zero.


	9. Arguments That Don't Actually Matter

Dlbn: Hey everyone! As promised, here's a new chapter!  
Nbld: Didn't end up going to the birthday party yesterday and had to work, but was so close to being late I lost all motivation to do anything but write other fics and fight with Facebook.

Dlbn: But we're bringing a chapter this weekend anyway.

Nbld: Hopefully there will be a Loveless Halloween fic coming out from us on the 31st, but we will see. Can't get it to write itself in my head so I can start on here.

Dlbn: Sad.

Nbld: Let's go to the Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat, The DarkCat, and Messenger777 for reviewing! Candy for you all!

Promocat: Yoji and Natsuo are strangely loyal to him for people who never cared for anyone but one another before. They must really like him to be willing to rush to his side.

The DarkCat: I think they realize it, they just don't really _care_ XD Ritsu will be involved, of course. Can't have a Septimal Moon meeting without him ; )

Messenger777: Ah, my Bible-spewing friend, we meet again~ Three things. One, baptized as a baby. Two, agnostic (don't know what waits for me, don't care). Three, last year, God murdered my mother and my aunt two months apart and systematically started murdering family members. Not really in a rush to meet the man/woman/it that destroyed my life. But nice to hear from you again. Was growing concerned that you'd been raptured~ But in all seriousness, you believe what you want, I'll believe what I want, and we can agree to disagree, ya? Appreciate the sentiment, but it's a little lost on me.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and any non-canon Units or people that are contained in this work of fiction. I make NO money off writing this. Everything that's canon belongs to Yun Kouga

000

Ritsuka tried not to sigh for the twelfth time as Ritsu and Nagisa continued arguing over something that didn't really matter but somehow was cause for an argument between the two of them anyway. They were worse than children, no, worse than _Zero_ on a good day. Or a bad day. Just in general, really. He skimmed through articles on his phone about the Tamed murder, but nothing really gave him any substance or information beyond what he already knew from Septimal Moon's investigation. Once again, he wasn't all that surprised. Soubi sat at his side, looking as bored as Ritsuka felt as he dug through some pieces for an art show at the college he went to. Or maybe just more examples for his portfolio. Ritsuka never ceased to be amazed by the art style of his boyfriend. It hadn't changed much since they met when he was twelve, but it still captivated him.

"Enough already." Yoji slammed his hands on the conference room table they were seated at, standing up and fixing both elder members with a glare that could kill. "Are you two morons done arguing like children over something stupid and pointless? This a meeting, you know."

Nagisa cursed him out under her breath as Ritsu shook his head and adjusted his glasses.

"I suppose you have a point, Zero." He sighed.

"You know I do." Yoji huffed as he sat back down. "So shut up and start your stupid meeting so we can go back to our dorms and go to bed."

"Someone's quick to the point." Asitai commented, drawing his fingers around the rim of his cup of tea.

It was rare that he showed up to meetings, but now that his Fighter, and lover, Mirai was out of his coma, he was there more often. Mirai rarely showed up unless it was super important. Apparently, a murder was super important to him.

"You haven't been around Zero, often, have you?" Nana asked, briefly looking up from her tablet with a smile.

"He hasn't been around _anyone_ often." Natsuo pointed out.

Asitai rolled his eyes, hiding a smirk behind the cup as he took a drink. Mirai chuckled quietly behind his hand.

"Let's get down to business." Mikado offered, tapping papers into a neat pile.

"To defeat the Huns?" Zero asked as one.

"I've always wanted to say that." Yoji laughed.

"Hell yes." Natsuo held up a hand and was rewarded with a high five.

Mikado rolled her eyes. "Enough with the jokes."

"Get a sense of humor."

"Enough." Soubi commented, giving the boys a look out of the corner of his eyes. "I'll drop the temperature in here so fast you become human icicles."

They wisely quieted down at that, slinking into their seats.

"The topic at most urgency," Mikado began, "is obviously the murder in your area, Aoyagi." She slid a remote to him. "You have the floor."

He sighed, standing and straightening his clothes as he grabbed it. "If I must." He sighed, clicking a button.

The lights shut off and a projector screen at the end opposite Ritsu, the head of the organization, came down with a picture of Tamed's name on their ankle. The neko rolled his eyes as he clicked a button to advance it. The Fighter's body in its lifeless position he had been found in showed up on screen next.

"No visible wounds, but Nagisa's autopsy revealed signs of strangulation." He advanced the slide to a zoomed in image of Tamed's wrists. "Post-mortem bruising suggests he was bound for a while." He flipped to another slide with a picture of Yokohama. "Soubi and I intercepted a battle between teams Hidden and Shameless. Shameless and Tamed are known associates. Shameless offered me an address and my brother as a suspect." The slide changed to a photo of the Tamed Sacrifice that Soubi had stealthily taken. "We spoke with her a few days ago. The Sacrifice was visibly shaken, but she didn't offer me much. Just my brother, again, and a team named Flightless." He tossed the remote to Nagisa. "I have searched through any records I can get my hands on, with no record of such a team existing."

Nagisa stood as he sat. "That is where I come in." She informed, switching slides. "Flightless, Fighter Sakagawa Aoi and Sacrifice Aoytoa Mikai." The unit's faces came up on the screen. "They were former assassins for Septimal Moon back when we were students." She motioned to indicate the older members of the organization. "Once we took over, they retired to the country side, names and atrocities committed for the old Septimal Moon stricken from any and all records." She switched slides to a graveyard. "Last we heard, they were deceased." She gave Ritsuka a look. "Either the Sacrifice was pulling your leg, or you've got another _Seimei_ on your hands."

He tented his fingers, closing his eyes and nodding once. "It would seem…my brother is quite a person of interest in this case, most unfortunately." He stood. "I'm guessing you're going to want me to talk to him. I hope you are all aware that doing so would be a declaration of war."

"A war we cannot afford." Soubi informed. "If Loveless and Beloved should collide…"

"We know the consequences, Soubi-kun." Ritsu informed his former ward. "No need to voice it. You two have an agreement, yes? No Fighters, mutual territory."

"And if you trust my brother as little as I do, you know it would be foolish to assume that he would keep his end of the agreement up." Ritsuka smirked a little. "Then again, I'm not quite certain I would adhere to it as well."

"You will if you don't want a war." Asitai informed. "And I know you don't. You have too many meaningful civilian connections to risk a war between yourself and your brother."

Ritsuka nodded. "Agreed, most unfortunately."

"It's a stalemate." Yoji informed. "Someone has to break it. He sent Akame to you, didn't he? He's already taken the first step towards starting trouble. It's best to hit it head on."

"You spoke to Akame recently?" Ritsu cocked an eyebrow. "Why didn't we know this?"

"It was on a need to know basis and, frankly, it wasn't important enough for you to know." Ritsuka sat down, crossing his legs and entwining his fingers on top of the knee. "He simply gave me a letter from my brother. He saw the coverage on the news and wanted to reach out."

"Take the invitation at face value." Ritsu stated. "I know your brother isn't trustworthy, but two people have named him on their own."

"Three." Ritsuka took the remote. "I wasn't finished." He changed the slide to a photo of his classmate. "My classmate, the Sacrifice of Faithless. Her Fighter attends Seven Voices Academy. She spoke to him about Flightless, but as you can tell, he knew nothing." He switched slides. "She did, however, provide some insight as to what happened before he went missing. Sensei received a call during a class and went visibly pale, but didn't say who it was or what was going on. He met them in the parking lot, but by the time she was in a classroom near the parking lot, the sensei was nowhere in sight, and no one else was around." He switched to a slide of the school. "I don't have any witnesses, and I can't question without raising my own suspicion. Sensei stopped showing up to school after that. Everyone assumed it was a family emergency or something along the lines, but no one knows for sure. Even the class substitute didn't know anything, but that's not surprising. They could have just been keeping the information hidden because the school said to." He shrugged. "She named my brother as a possibility as well, unsurprisingly. I'm pretty sure everyone in our world that knows of this has suspected him at least once in this case."

"It's likely that whoever he spoke to at the school was his abductor." Nana commented, adjusting her glasses and looking up briefly. "Is there anyone there you could talk to?"

"I'm unaware of any other Units or single Unit members at my school, let alone within the faculty. Unless someone comes to me, I don't have anything."

"We'll send Sweepers." Ritsu offered, writing something down. "They can pose as officers and investigate, ask as many questions as they need to ask, and report findings back to you when appropriate."

Ritsuka nodded. "Alright, I suppose that works." He stated. "Make sure they know I am the lead on the case. This is my territory, and I promised that I would find out who did this, to Faithless. You know how I feel about breaking a promise."

"Understood." Nagisa nodded. "In the meantime, consider speaking with your brother. If he's been mentioned three times, it might just summon him."

"That's the second time I've heard that joke this week, and it gets less funny each time." Ritsuka informed.

"Mikado, anything to add?" Nagisa asked the silent teen.

She shook her head. "I agree, Beloved might be our best source, and you're the only one we can send who is guaranteed to come back." She looked to Ritsuka. "But please do not take any unnecessary risks here. Get what you can from him and go. He's offered assistance. That's enough of a reason to go see him unannounced for a friendly _chat_."

"But if things go awry, get out of there." Ritsu ordered. "Soubi, be on standby, but do not cross into Beloved's territory without receiving word from Ritsuka first. Who knows what spies he has in the area, and if you're found before you can get to him, it will go sour quickly."

"Acknowledged."

Ritsuka felt a twinge of annoyance at his own Fighter being ordered around by someone else, but he remembered the relationship between the blonde and his former sensei and pushed it aside.

"Onto the next order of business." Nagisa offered, tossing the remote to Mikado.

"Is that our cue to get lost? We only needed to stay for the Tamed thing, right?" Natsuo asked, bouncing one of his legs a little.

"I suppose you don't need to stay." Mikado stated. "What I have to say can be explained to you at our next Executioner meeting, as well."

"I don't care to hear it twice. So, Zero, if you'd please?" Ritsuka asked.

"Fine." Yoji rolled his eyes. "Just get it over with."

Half an hour later, Ritsuka really started to regret asking the twins to stay for Mikado's never-ending monologue they continuously interrupted.


	10. There Is No Uncle Ryoko

Dlbn: Hey everyone! Another chapter is here at the ready!

Nbld: My updates are starting to catch up to my pre-written portions of this fic, so I'm going to be on a writing kick for a while so I don't get to a point where I'm stuck.

Dlbn: Like with every other long chapter fic. Seriously, how long has Careless been on hiatus?

Nbld: Too long. We won't update again before Tuesday, so Happy Halloween, all. Review corner! Thank you to Promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Candy and cider for you both!

Promocat: Regardless of how much he's against it. And he's very much against it.

The DarkCat: Sorry :/ things came in piece by piece as the investigation went on, but they will have meetings every so often to clarify things. Seimei will make an appearance, yes, but I won't say when ;) Thanks. I've started and am about a quarter of the way done? Took a while to come up with a viable plot for this one. I'm sure you will finish on time. Can't wait to see it ^^

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and non-canon things and people. Canon stuff belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off writing this.

Dedication: Dedicated to my new soul sister, Victoria. Seriously, we have so much in common, it's almost creepy ;) Glad to meet you at the Halloween party!

000

Ritsuka wasn't surprised to see Sweepers at school the following day. Ritsu surprisingly pulled through in a short amount of time. He supposed he'd have to pull through on his end of things and speak with his brother, regardless of how much he dreaded it. He'd wait until the weekend. If the Sweepers came up with enough, he could do other things before having to settle for speaking with Beloved. Whether or not Seimei offered him assistance, he couldn't help but feel that it was just another one of Beloved's carefully laid out traps. Yuiko bubbled on at lunch about going strawberry picking with her parents the day before, but he barely paid any attention to her words. The lead sensei from his grade came up to their table.

"Good afternoon, kids." She greeted.

"Good afternoon, sensei." They moved to stand, but she stopped them.

"You have a visitor, Aoyagi-kun." She said. "I came to get you and bring you down to the office. Your uncle Ryoko?"

"Oh, I forgot he was coming." Ritsuka laughed. "Sorry, guys but I have to go."

"Aw, you can't stay?" Yuiko pouted. "I wasn't done with my story."

"That's okay, Yuiko." He smiled gently. "I wasn't listening." He had to laugh as her jaw dropped. "I'm sorry, I'm kidding, I really am. I'll see you guys later."

He took his backpack and nearly empty food tray to leave. After depositing his garbage in the proper bin, he left through the double doors on the side that lead to the main lobby. It wasn't hard to guess who was waiting for him, so he wasn't surprised when the head Sweeper from the other day was waiting just inside the front door.

"Hey, Ritsuka." He greeted. "I almost forgot about your appointment. I hope I'm not interrupting a class."

"Hey, uncle. No, everything is fine. I was in lunch."

"I see. Well, I signed you out, so we're good to go."

"Alright. Thank you." Ritsuka smiled at the secretary.

"Have a good day, Ritsuka-kun." She offered him.

"Thanks, you too."

He waited until they were outside the school grounds to say anything.

"I'm hoping you found something noteworthy." He stated. "I don't like to miss school when I don't have to."

"I got you a description and a car." He informed, handing Ritsuka a manila envelope. "Seems the man was alone, but the secretary there remembers what he looks like. If I was a sketch artist, I would have gotten you one."

"That's fine. A physical description is enough." Ritsuka shook his head.

He pulled open the envelope as he followed the Sweeper to his car. He pulled out papers and slipped into the passenger's seat, buckling himself with one hand as the Sweeper shut the door and got in on his side.

"Vehicle is a 2002 Honda Accord, silver. Slight damage to the front passenger side, but is otherwise in descent looking condition. Dark grey pinstripes peeling off in several locations. Plate number HLA-8HGJ" Ritsuka shrugged. "Helpful, but I'm not the DMV, so that won't do much for me. Looks like he got in willingly." He put it away and pulled out the piece of paper with the description of the guy on it.

The description didn't match the photos of Flightless he'd seen at the meeting. Even if they had aged, it didn't make sense that it could be them.

"It's worth talking to the Sacrifice again." Ritsuka thought aloud. "I don't think she was approached by who she thinks she was approached by."

"Want me to take you? Or would you prefer to go with your Fighter?"

"We can swing by, if you don't mind the millage. It's close to Seimei's territory."

The Sweeper paused but nodded after a moment. "Whatever you want to do, Loveless. I'm just the messenger."

"And chauffer, apparently."

"Minami instructed me to be as much of an asset to you as possible."

"I see." Ritsuka pushed a few buttons on the on-board GPS and put in the address.

The slightly annoyingly pitched feminine voice from the console greeted him with a time of arrival and instructions to turn in a mile and a half.

"Do you want to stop by to see your brother…?" The sweeper asked. "Minami mentioned you might be going to him, so…"

"If I go to my brother, it will be on a day when I can be accompanied from a distance by my Fighter. I can't risk anyone on Seimei's side seeing him and assuming I'm declaring war." Ritsuka chuckled. "Though, to be fair, the day he too Soubi from me, my brother inadvertently declared war."

"Not much of a war. He came back."

"Two years later."

"At least he came back." The sweeper smiled gently. "His faith in your bond was strong enough that he knew coming back wouldn't have been fruitless."

"I suppose." Ritsuka shrugged, putting back the paper with the description.

No one he'd encountered so far matched it anyway.

"My Fighter and I were like that once."

"What happened?"

"She met someone."

"Oh…I see…" A pause. "Then, in a way, you're the same as Minami and I."

"The only difference is that his died, and yours came back. Mine simply severed our bond and went on her merry way." He sighed. "You think having your heart broken is bad? Try having your bond destroyed. There's severing a bond, and then there's destroying it."

"What's the difference?" Ritsuka wondered.

No one had ever told him this before. He figured there was only one way to sever a bond.

"Zero has the ability to sever their bond to connect with other Zeroes if need be. They can reform their bond, no problem." He smiled gently. "When your other half destroys your bond, there's no going back."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. Stings in more ways than one." He replied. "You're lucky. You kids have good Fighters."

"Is that why you joined Sweepers? No Fighter means you can't do much fighting."

He nodded. "I didn't have much of a choice. It was either that or retire. But, honestly, I loved this stuff so much, I couldn't just walk away from it like Yoko did."

"Is that really her name or are you making a Beatles joke?"

"No, that's her name."

"Ironic."

"You think I would have realized it wasn't going to end well forever ago."

Ritsuka chuckled. "Yes, you'd think so."

"Does that physical description help you any?"

"It's very generic. Man in his late twenties, raven hair, no ears, green eyes. You know how many black haired Japanese men there are in Japan? Here's a hit, it's a lot."

The man chuckled. "Well, at least you know it's not Flightless."

"That's what concerns me."

You can't fake a name.


	11. Maybe Its Magic

Dlbn: Hey everyone! Sorry there was no chapter last week! I got so busy with other things at work that I completely forgot to update until I was on my way home Sunday night. I'm not falling behind, I just forgot ^^"

Nbld: And no Wi-Fi home means no way to update anyway, so here we are. Let's get going with the Review Corner! Thanks to Promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Leftover Halloween candy for you both!

Promocat: She really is. Ritsuka couldn't resist~ Naming her that was part a joke, part I picked a name and realized what I picked after I picked it.

The DarkCat: Welcome! That's one of my favorite jokes in this fic honestly XD I love Yuiko. I feel like she isn't always used to her full potential in fics. Btw, I still haven't finished my Halloween fic. Hopefully I will finish and post it by tonight, or at least the end of the weekend.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and non-canon characters and teams. Everything else belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money from this fic. If I did, I could pay my bills.

Dedication: Dedicated to a VERY distant family member that I didn't know but family members close to me did. She passed away in a house fire last weekend. Burial was today. You will be missed, Lucky.

000

Tamed was visibly pale and collapsed onto the couch when Ritsuka told her what he had learned.

"No, that's impossible." She muttered behind her hands. "I know it was Flightless. They showed me their name."

"Where?"

"Insides of their wrists, like right where people cut themselves most often."

Ritsuka's eyes drifted to her wrists to see if that was how she knew, but she sensed it and hid them, but didn't deny it. Flightless had their name right on their shoulder blade, written at a broken angle that it closely resembled a wing. There was no denying she was given an incorrect name.

"That's not the location for their name." He informed. "And they've been declared deceased for years."

"So, someone is faking it? How can you fake a name? They have to have a real name, then! There has to be a name. They fought us, with spells. They have to be _someone_."

"At the moment, they're no one." Ritsuka handed her a photo of the pair he knew were Flightless from the meeting. "Were you approached by either of these people?"

She leaned close and squinted. "No, I don't recognize either of them, I'm sorry." She stated. "Who are they?"

"That would be the real Flightless." Ritsuka informed. "About thirty-five years ago."

She blinked back tears. "This is a nightmare…I don't even know who did it…I…"

"What did the man look like?"

"Uh, he looked pretty normal to me." She shrugged. "Like a carbon copy of every Japanese man I've ever met. Dark hair, green eyes, about the height of your Fighter."

Sounded like a match to the description the receptionist gave Hideki.

"On foot? Car? Cab? How did they come up to you?"

"They ran into us in the park just on the other side of the city line." She pointed towards Kyoto, towards Seimei. "I don't know if they walked there, but neither of them seemed to have keys for a car on them, unless they were hidden."

"They probably could lock and unlock the car with a spell, anyway." Hideki piped up from the corner he'd been waiting in. "If they wanted to make a quick getaway for any reason, a spell would be the quickest way in and out."

"And to start it." Ritsuka stated. "I've met a Unit who was able to do that with a motorcycle when I was on a house call for a test a few months ago."

"Spells do wondrous things." She smiled gently, but it faded quickly. "Including killing someone and making it look like an accident."

"Must be how my brother got away with it for so long." Ritsuka offered. "I don't think I have anything else for you, Tamed. If you don't mind, we'll be taking leave. If you think of anything, once again, don't hesitate to reach out."

"Thank you." She smiled gently. "Thank you for putting so much care into this case…most would have just tossed it aside by now."

"One of my classmates was his student, and a Sacrifice. Believe me, you're not the only one hoping I find the killers."

"Killers?"

"They masqueraded as a Unit when they confronted you." Ritsuka stated. "I have a feeling this fake Flightless is the Unit that took him, though I'm not certain why yet."

"When you find them, _why_ will be the last thing I want out of the encounter."

"Of course. Only Gomon is concerned with the why. I could care less, myself." Ritsuka stood. "We'll speak again soon, I'm sure of it."

"I'm sure, as well." She stood and bowed before leading them to the front door. "Sorry you had to come all this way."

"It's no problem."

"It's not your car." Hideki joked.

Ritsuka rolled his eyes, smirking. "Can it, Sweeper."

They left, the door shutting and clicking locked behind them.

"Without the proper name, how are you supposed to find these guys?"

"Something tells me they're going to be coming to us."

000

He hated when he was right, he really did. The news replayed a story of a double homicide a few days later. The sensei were all sharing the news feed on the televisions in school. Sweepers were barely visible on the sides of the screens, but Ritsuka recognized Hideki and a female Sweeper in the crowds attending to the bodies. A female reporter appeared on screen, visibly shaking and holding a microphone with two hands like a child.

"A-Authorities say the bodies were discovered around nine am this morning, found by some early arriving workers." She spoke to the camera. "The scene bares striking resemblance to the murder at Hitsusein High School a few weeks prior."

The police wheeled two bodies out on gurneys. The reporter shuddered.

"Authorities aren't releasing any information, but they believe that the two victims may have been part of a cult, due to a similar branding on their left hips, though they wouldn't say what." She swallowed hard. "Channel seven will continue to keep you updated and informed throughout the course of this investigation. This is reporter Sakura Takaya, signing off to you live from the scene of the crime."

As the station went back to the studio, the sensei shut it off.

"Things are getting crazy out there, aren't they, kids?" She wondered, twirling a lock of hair. "I want everyone to be extra careful on their way home from school, and do not go anywhere alone…"

"What does it matter?" Maika, a girl Ritsuka had gone to school with since middle school, blurted. "They were together, and look what happened! They're both dead!"

"How do you know they were together, Maika?" Taku teased. "Unless you were there."

"They had a similar tattoo, she said." She stuck out her tongue, looking more like a five-year-old than a sixteen-year-old. "They had to have at least known each other. And they end up dead and found together? Come on!"

The class erupted into shouting matches of theories that Ritsuka didn't pay any mind to.

"Maybe its magic." A kid offered, getting his attention.

The room went silent.

"What?" Ritsuka asked, since he hadn't heard the conversation.

"I mean…they died somehow, right? And there's no signs of what happened, right? That's what they said for Sensei, and they said the cases are similar, so…"

"So, magic did it?" Maika wondered. "Are you on crack?"

"Alright, that's enough." Their sensei scolded. "No theory is too crazy, remember that. Everyone has an opinion. Perhaps Taika sees things in a different way than you do. That doesn't mean he is on crack."

People giggled.

"If you think that's funny, you'll love my next act. A pop quiz on chapter four."

People groaned, putting away their stuff. Ritsuka and Taika shared a look that he hoped no one else saw. Either the kid thought he agreed, or he was one of them.


	12. The Brothers Grimm

Dlbn: Hey everyone! Welcome to a new chapter!

Nbld: We're excited for this chapter, particularly the ending of it. So let's start with the Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat, Halbarath, and The DarkCat for reviewing! Cake for you all!

Promocat: You'll find out soon ^^

Halbarath: Hey there! Them interacting will be up shortly!

The DarkCat: Thanks! More coming up!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Loveless. Anything and everything canon belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off writing this thing.

000

Taika found Ritsuka after lunch on their way to their next class, advanced English. He grabbed him gently by the arm.

"About what I said in class…you won't report me, will you?" He asked. "I didn't mean to come too close to the truth, Executioner, I promise."

"Ah, so you _are_ one of us." Ritsuka adjusted his bag strap on his shoulder. "I was wondering if you were serious or just being funny. I won't report you, but you should watch what you say next time. You never know who could be listening."

"You're right, I'm sorry." He looked at him sheepishly from under his bangs. "I'm Tasteless."

"Loveless…that's quite a name."

"As is yours."

"I suppose they all are."

"Yeah."

"You have any further insights to share?"

"No, not really." He shook his head. "I just didn't want to get in trouble." His ears twitched. "Do you think today's thing is connected to Sensei's murder?"

"I can't say with one hundred percent certainty, but it looks that way."

"Damn…this is terrible. People are going to keep getting hurt. How long before one of the victims is a civilian? Your territory is a war zone."

Ritsuka chuckled. "It may as well be. Or at least a body dumping ground."

"I hoped Tamed is okay. I knew her back at the Academy."

"She's shaken up." He paused. "You're around here a lot. Have you ever encountered a unit named Flightless?"

"Considering that I live in the area, that's not a surprise." He laughed. "But no, I can't say that I have. Is that who did this?"

"It's classified."

"But they're a person of interest or you wouldn't be asking." He grinned a little. "I won't tell anyone, promise. Just catch the bastards."

"I intend on it."

000

Ritsuka paced in his bedroom, pondering the events of the day. Soubi had been waiting for him when he got home from school, and was currently smoking out on the balcony. Ritsuka heard him return and the curtains shuffle. The blonde simply stood there, staring at his younger not-yet-lover.

"You're concerned." He stated.

"Wouldn't you be? Three homicides within the span of two weeks." Ritsuka commented. "But this time, we don't have a surviving member of a Unit to get a lead from."

Soubi nodded. "I wonder if the first attempt was a mistake."

"You think she's in danger?"

"It's worth considering the possibility, yes." Soubi nodded. "They disposed of an entire Unit the second time, but only the Fighter the first time? Something just doesn't add up there, Ritsuka, and you know it."

"They probably tortured him to find out where she was, but he wouldn't tell them. If he had, she wouldn't have been there when we stopped by."

"I agree." Ritsuka nodded. "It explains the ligature marks on his wrists. Bound and tortured."

"But the paralyzing agent…"

"Is probably a red herring, if we're on the right track."

Soubi nodded. "Or a last-ditch attempt to scare him into cooperating."

"Only he and the false Flightless would know for certain, and we can't ask any of them."

Soubi nodded. "You have yet to talk to Seimei."

"Ritsu called you, didn't he?"

"No, Zero did." Soubi replied. "They knew you would procrastinate, and Ritsu and Nagisa are getting impatient."

"I don't answer to Nagisa; she can wait." Ritsuka rolled his eyes. "Ritsu, on the other hand, I will humor. This weekend."

"Whatever you wish to do, my love."

Ritsuka flushed. "There's something I wish to do, but you refuse."

Soubi pulled him into a hug, tilting his chin up to plant a kiss to his lips. Ritsuka threaded his fingers through Soubi's silky corn silk locks as Soubi's fingers dug into his lower back. Both males let out a moan, teeth clacking and tongues sliding together. Soubi pulled away first, pressing his forehead to Ritsuka's.

"Sukidayo."

"Sukidayo." Ritsuka agreed, pushing the blonde towards the bed.

"Ritsuka…"

"We can fool around. I won't lose my ears." Ritsuka nibbled on his pierced right earlobe. "Please, Soubi? You don't have to touch me anywhere…just…hold me…"

"Now, that, I can do." Soubi pulled him to lay on the bed together.

Ritsuka curled against him, head and a hand laying on his toned chest. He snuggled up to his Fighter and kissed where his neck met his shoulder on that side.

"Don't get me wrong, Soubi. I love our relationship as it is. I just…wish I could show you a little more."

"I do as well." Soubi pulled him closer for another kiss. "All in due time, kitten."

"You keep saying that."

"I know."

Ritsuka chuckled. "Stay the night?"

"Ritsuka, it would be my pleasure."

000

As promised the following Saturday, Ritsuka stood just outside his brother's property line, sans Soubi. The blonde was on their side of the border, checking out some shops and talking with Tamed when he could. Ritsuka sighed, gingerly touching the black metal fence that surrounded a lush green lawn and typical two-story tan colored house with a slightly darker roof. He couldn't believe his brother lived somewhere so normal, yet here he was, standing outside the home of Aoyagi Seimei and his crew of miscreants. Akame wasn't the only one on his side that took up residence with him, though Ritsuka wasn't familiar with anyone else but Chouma, a former Septimal Moon member and the sister of Kio. He barely opened the gate when the front door swung open. Akame practically danced down the steps, pulling Mimuro with him.

"Come _on_ , senpai." He begged. "I just want to go see if I can get the latest Yokai Hunter manga. _Please_?"

"Alright, alright. Stop pulling on me like I'm a dog." Mimuro ordered, glaring at him. "We have company, it would appear."

Ritsuka stood there, arm out from pushing open the gate, the gate slowly coming to a stop just before closing. The three of them stood there, staring but not speaking. Mimuro broke the ice first, clearing his throat and smiling gently at the younger Aoyagi brother.

"Hey, Ritsuka, long time no see." He greeted with a slight wave. "You're here for Seimei?"

"He did invite me, after all." Ritsuka offered slowly, hoping Akame remembered.

"Just in time for us to leave. How convenient." Nisei snorted. "You'll find him in the study. First floor, down the hall on the left, second door on the right."

"Thank you…"

"Don't thank me, brat. I just sent you to hell." Nisei huffed.

He pulled Mimuro with him past the neko and out through the gate. Ritsuka waved a goodbye over his shoulder when Mimuro called out to him, but continued walking to the house. Once inside, he could feel the crushing aura that was _Beloved_ 's power signature coursing through his veins, pressing down on him and making his legs heavy. He wondered if Mimuro ever felt it when he was in the home. How someone as gentle as him ended up being with someone like Akame, he would never know. He was one of the last people Ritsuka expected to move in with the guy, simply because they hated one another more than Nisei and Soubi did. Ritsuka didn't bother taking off his shoes as he continued into the house. There was a TV on somewhere, and he could hear Chouma and another woman laughing about something on TV. He saw someone pass by on the hallway upstairs, blocked in by a banister, but they didn't seem to see him. He hoped he had clocked himself well enough that his presence wouldn't be known until he entered the room his brother was in, if Akame was giving him a proper location. He found the room and didn't bother to knock as he entered.

"Don't you have any manners?" Seimei asked, not looking up from a book his nose was buried into.

"Of course not. I'm an Aoyagi." Ritsuka countered after a moment's pause.

Seimei's head shot up. "Ritsuka, you've come!" He dog eared the page and sat it down on the table next to him with his reading glasses. "What a pleasure, indeed. Can I get you anything?"

"I'm fine, Seimei."

Seimei gave him a hug, but Ritsuka gingerly pushed him away. "I'm not here to exchange pleasantries, Beloved."

Seimei sighed deeply, sitting in the chair behind the desk. "When did my sweet little brother grow so cold?"

"Shut up. You wanted the real me, you got it. Stop complaining already."

"Not complaining; musing."

"Tomato, tomato." Ritsuka shrugged.

"Please, have a seat." Seimei motioned to a chair.

"I'd rather stand."

"I'd prefer not to be talked down to, if you don't mind."

Ritsuka sighed, sitting to appease his brother. His arms folded over his chest protectively and his legs crossed. "Better, Seimei?"

"Much." Seimei offered him a grin. "Now, to what do I owe the pleasure? I was made aware that you got my note."

"This isn't a formal _meeting_ , Seimei, I'm not one of your attack dogs."

"How rude."

"You made me this way."

"I suppose I have no one to blame by myself." Seimei sighed, putting his cheek in one hand. "Well, what is it? About the murder?"

"Murders."

"Ah, the double the other day?" Seimei asked. "Tragic. Best be careful, little brother. I wouldn't want you to be next."

Ritsuka snorted. "Soubi wouldn't let anyone hurt me."

"Even Agatsuma can't protect you from everything…how are you two doing? I see you've retained your ears." He smiled gently.

"Not by my own choice, I assure you." Ritsuka snorted. "I'd just as soon get rid of these pesky things, but Soubi won't. Not that it's any of your business, but I'm the one that wants to go further."

Seimei's lips pressed into a fine line. "He had better retain that stubbornness until you're eighteen."

"That better not be a threat, Seimei. No one is in the mood for your intimidation tactics."

Seimei sighed. "Pardon if I'm protective. As I said in my letter, if you bothered to read it, I just don't want you hurt. But since you're here, I'm most likely correct in guessing that you did and know I intend no harm. I merely want to help."

"Then tell me what you know."

"About what?"

"Flightless."

"I'm not familiar with this Unit." Seimei answered, leaning back in his chair. "Person of interest?"

"To a degree." Ritsuka shrugged. "Someone is masquerading as a dead Unit."

"Ah, well, isn't _that_ interesting."

"My first thought was faking death, but that appears to be your department."

Seimei glared. "Tread lightly, little brother."

Ritsuka shrugged. "I'm not wrong, and both you and I are aware of that."

"I suppose so." Seimei all but snorted, leaning back in his chair. "So, what are you thinking? Impersonation?"

"That seems to be the most likely case…unless they found the fountain of youth…"

Seimei chuckled. "Wouldn't that be something? Though, in our world, nothing would quite surprise me anymore, if I were being honest."

"I expect you to be anything but."

Seimei snorted. "The jokes have gone far enough. I did not summon you here for you to mock me."

"Summon me?" Ritsuka laughed. "Surely, you are joking. Unless you are behind the murders…"

Seimei chuckled. "I sent a letter to you, did I not? You wouldn't have decided it was safe to come here if I hadn't made the first step."

"You really do plan things through, don't you, Seimei? It's how you've remained as untouchable as you have for so long."

"That, and those fools of Septimal Moon are too afraid of me to make a move."

"Those _fools_ include me." Ritsuka's eyes narrowed.

"My point still stands, Ritsuka."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"You're not?"

"You're more afraid of me than I am of you."

"How do you figure?"

"You know I'm the only one capable of taking you down. That's why you tried to take Soubi back from me for so long. Well done, might I add."

"Back to your case here." Seimei rolled his eyes. "I hate to tell you, but faking an identity is not an easy feat. One would have to adapt the fighting style of the unit and whatever their strength is. Can you imagine another unit becoming stronger under a night where the moon is invisible, like Moonless? The very idea is laughable."

"But not improbable." Ritsuka stated. "Surely you are aware that anything is possible in our world, whether or not the rules apply."

"The rules are a basis. People defy the rules on a daily basis; that is nothing new. But adapting power and fighting style is just a base. Copying a name isn't simple. Someone can't just tattoo it."

Ritsuka pulled up his shirt to expose his name. "If the right color is used, it can look like a scar like mine does." He put his shirt back when Seimei's eyes lingered just a second too long. "And yours is just blocky black lettering. That's not hard to fake."

"No two tattoos are exactly alike, Ritsuka." Seimei smiled gently. "If two people were to get the same word tattooed on their skin, even if by the same person, the names won't be perfect copies."

"They attacked an untested unit that is barely trained." Ritsuka informed. "It wouldn't be hard to fool a few armatures, you know."

"I suppose you have a point. Regretfully, I know nothing of this unit before or after their supposed death that could help you. The name is familiar as something I have heard in passing, but that's about it. Whatever records Septimal Moon gave you are all that you're going to get in this case."

"So, my being here is pointless. You just led me here for a visit?"

"You're the one that chose to come here." Seimei stated. "I can keep my eyes and ears open. The first time I hear even the _word_ 'Flightless' whispered in passing, you will be the first to know."

"Thanks…" Ritsuka deadpanned. "I'm glad I came here just for you to promise to keep me informed. You already did that with your letter."

Seimei shrugged. "At least now I can say it in person."

Ritsuka felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle like someone was filling the air with static electricity. He recognized it as Seimei's battle signature.

"Akame didn't leave…did he…"

"Of course he did. Why would you ask?"

"I recognize your battle signature, Seimei. If this was a trap…"

"Ritsuka, do you think I would risk what little interaction we do have and this weak sibling bond we maintain by having my Nisei waiting in hiding to start a fight as we talk? Perhaps he ran into something."

"I never know with you."

"That hurts, Ritsuka."

"I know it doesn't, but I wish it did." Ritsuka turned towards the door. "I'll trust you on this, Seimei, but not for long. I have some real investigating to do. If you think of anything useful for once, do not hesitate to call me."

"I shall keep that in mind. Oyasumi, Ritsuka. I regret I couldn't be of further assistance."

Ritsuka left, not saying a word. Either his brother was playing ignorant and just hoping he was too stupid to figure it out, or he really didn't know anything. For now, he's play along with his brother's manipulations and let him think he was in control. Just like he always did. Aoyagi Seimei always _was_ the predictable one.


	13. A Not-So-Hostile Situation

Dlbn: Hey everyone! This chapter almost didn't happen.

Nbld: Stupid us saved it to a flash drive instead of saving it on the laptop and almost had a heart attack when I couldn't find it in the story.

Dlbn: But we found it and here we are, with our last update as 26-year-olds. Birthday tomorrow. Woot?

Nbld: Let's get going before that countdown to midnight hits (about 20 minutes from now) so we can update every fic one last time at 26. Thank you to Promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Birthday cake for you both!

Promocat: I don't think anyone is as devoted to their sibling as Seimei is. O.o

The DarkCat: Seimei doesn't see a point anymore. If Ritsuka's true nature is out and about now, his might as well be, too. No use in hiding from his brother what he already knows. I'm glad you're enjoying! I do have the culprit in mind, but I'm not one hundred on the backstory yet (given names are not made right now, but true name is, for example)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and minor side characters. Anything canon to Loveless belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off this fic. If I did, I wouldn't be getting evicted as a birthday present from the neighborhood.

000

Ritsuka sat in his bedroom later that night, meeting with his colleagues of Septimal Moon hosting a meeting in private chambers in a castle on Wisdom Resurrection. Soubi had gone home for the night an hour before, not wanting to deal with Ritsu trying to taunt him into joining the game with his own account, one that used to belong to Seimei's. Ritsuka couldn't blame him. As he tried to ignore Ritsu and Nagisa's squabbling, he worked on his calculus homework, only to stop long enough to answer when Nana or Mikado addressed him. He was still listening to the doctor and the principal argue long after both Nana and Mikado gave up and left the room to go explore a dungeon. He didn't care to listen to the elder members going back and forth, but he needed a bit of noise to concentrate and he'd already gotten sick of every CD in his rather small collection. Yoji and Natsuo hadn't bothered to show up to the online meeting, as they usually did when it was online, but the little green dots next to their respective usernames showed that they were in game somewhere. A gentle ping on the computer caught Ritsuka's attention as being a private message. He opened it, though the sender was unknown to him.

"A letter?" He wondered, dark eyes skimming over the page.

 _I hope that I have the right person. If I do not, simply disregard this letter. If I am, I am pleased to speak with you, heir Executioner._ Okay, so they were German or something? Didn't Akame call him that before…? _I have information that may prove to be useful I your investigation of the Tamed murder. Meet me at this address at nine PM this Saturday. Bring your Fighter if you must, just please do not stand me up. I have no ill will towards either of you. I simply want to know who killed my son._

 _Hostile_

The address on the bottom was local, so at least he didn't have to travel. He vaguely remembered Shameless suggesting to find Hostile for more information, but no one had mentioned that the two Units were blood. Obviously it wasn't unusual, since both Seimei and Ritsuka were Sacrifices, as was their memoryless and retired father. At least he didn't have to seek them out. It wasn't a stretch to think that the guy could find him easily, since his name was Loveless on there, but it made him wonder who found him that _hadn't_ confronted him yet.

000

Ritsuka and Soubi stood outside Komeki Industries nuclear power plant as the message Ritsuka had gotten on Wisdom Resurrection had instructed. The neko checked his watch nervously and paced back and forth on the sidewalk. If he were doing it for too long, Soubi had a feeling he'd wear a groove into the pavement.

"Where is he?" Ritsuka asked. "I hope this isn't a setup."

"It's 8:59, Ritsuka, have patience." Soubi informed with a gentle smile, offering a hand to his master.

Ritsuka took it and stopped pacing. "Gomen. I forgot we got here so early."

"No shame in being early, Ritsuka. It's professional."

"But rather irritating when other people don't share the sentiment."

Soubi chuckled. "I fear you grow to be more like Zero every day."

"Please don't insult me, Soubi." Ritsuka's eyes sparkled as his Fighter leaned down to place an apologetic kiss on his cheek.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Soubi winked.

Footsteps approached slowly. Ritsuka looked over his shoulder, prepared to order his lover to fight for him if need be. Soubi looked over his head. A figure dressed in all black was walking towards them. It looked like it could have been a woman, but in the darkness of the night and very little light from the streetlamp, there was no telling who or what it was coming towards them, gender nor status as friend or foe. Ritsuka felt his guard instantly go up as the person got closer, hands clasping a briefcase in front of them. When the person stood under the light, mere inches from the young Sacrifice, he could make out features more clearly. It was quite obviously a woman, with short green hair and golden brown eyes.

"Who are you?" Ritsuka greeted.

"I'm the one who summoned you here, Aoyagi Ritsuka of Loveless." She replied, voice smooth as silk.

"Identify yourself, Miss." Soubi ordered. "We don't have the time for games and verbal runaround."

"My, someone has you on a long leash…" She chuckled. "Very well. I am Akikaito Tsumengi, Sacrifice of Hostile. Yukawa Kaji is my son, Fighter of Tamed."

"And where is your Fighter?" Ritsuka wondered.

"Business trip. I could have gone, but I can handle myself here, and I have a business of my own to attend to." Her eyes sparkled. "I'm sorry to have contacted you through such an unorthodox method, but I didn't know how else to go about it without seeming like it was a threat."

"And it's not, as you said before?"

"Correct." She nodded, being very cooperative for someone whose name was _Hostile_. "I just wish to find out who murdered my son."

"You…don't share a last name?" Soubi asked.

"Tch." She scoffed. "Men, always asking the wrong questions. I don't see how that's pertinent."

"Relax, we're just gathering information. Whether it's going to help in my investigation or not is beside the point." Ritsuka glared. "Don't make an enemy out of me, Hostile. You know as well as I do that that won't end well."

She took a deep breath, seeming to be trying to calm herself down. "You're right, you're right." She agreed. "I wouldn't dream of upsetting an _Executioner_ , let alone a member of Septimal Moon. You being both is just extra bad luck for me if I were to upset you further. Gomen."

"It's quite alright…" Ritsuka looked her up and down. "Well? The last name?"

"His father was a cheap one-night stand that promised he'd be there, then up and left when Kaji turned three." She snorted. "I suppose I brought that one on myself. Though I had no way to determine whether or not our son was one of us, the possibility was there. He'd seen my Fighter use word spell and used his, thinking it was normal. Scared off his father. I never told him that and, I guess it's too late now, but he was better off without the _coward_." She took another deep breath. "I'm just glad I didn't make the mistake of actually marrying the bastard. Kaji's step father is a much better man, and he's learned not to use his word spell around anyone who isn't one of us, so there's no scaring people off."

"Is Kaji an only child?"

"Heavens no. I've got four more after him. Taiku, Kaede, Koro, and Yume. All Akikaito, if that matters."

"It's useful information." Ritsuka shrugged. "Do you know anyone that would want to hurt your son?"

"Kaji?" She snorted. "He barely liked to fight. If anyone upset anyone else, it was his Sacrifice. He loves her to death, but I can barely stand the sight of her. She came over this morning, blathering on about apologies and how she would have stopped it if she'd known. Useless girl. Couldn't even tell that her Fighter was in danger?" She scoffed. "But no names come to mind. He and I were very open about our world and people we've encountered. What one of us learned could help the other. We rarely encountered the same people, though, I admit."

"Have you ever heard of or encountered a team named Flightless?" Soubi wondered.

"Flightless…?" She tapped her chin. "I've heard of many units named _Less_ , I've encountered more than I've heard of…but I can't say that that one is familiar."

"Because it's not? Or because you just can't say it?" Ritsuka's ear twitched.

"Aoyagi-kun, if someone was trying to control me or keep me quiet about anything, my Fighter and I would have taken them out long before the words finished leaving their mouths." She informed. "A lot of people didn't take me seriously growing up, being a female Sacrifice with a male Fighter. The nicer ones would say our roles should have been reversed. The ruder ones…well…let's just say the name _Hostile_ fits me rather well, if I do say so myself."

"Willing to fight anyone that challenges your position as a Sacrifice." Ritsuka evaluated.

"Well, yes, in a way." She shrugged. "You have to be ruthless in this world, I'm sure you're aware. To fail to do so is almost signing your own death certificate."

"Yet your son was a pacifist that didn't like fighting…"

"He would if he had to. He just wasn't fond of the idea. The Academy was just a hell for him."

"He wouldn't be the first to say that, and I'm sure he wouldn't be the last." Soubi folded his arms over his chest.

Ritsuka gave him a light, playful shove. "Can it." He ordered. "Can you think of anything suspicious concerning his behavior lately? Any new friends, new places to hang, hobbies?"

She shook her head. "Everything was pretty routine until he went missing. I reported it. The girl didn't. How did she not know…? You don't think she was involved, do you?"

"It…wouldn't help her to have her Fighter killed." Ritsuka spoke slowly. "I'm rather certain the shock she expressed was genuine…could they have had a fight among themselves?"

"She was always pushing him, so it's possible. But for him to not report into his Sacrifice in so long? Their arguments never lasted long…about this unit you mentioned…Flightless…should I keep my eye out?"

"If you're contacted by them, contact me immediately." He stated. "I don't care if I'm in school or not."

Soubi handed the woman a business card from his pocket when Ritsuka motioned for him to do so.

"You go to the school where my son taught…were you one of his students?"

"No, but I know one of them, and I promised her I'd figure this out."

"And you fully intend to do so?" She covered her mouth with one hand, the other hand supporting her elbow. "Hm, perhaps I can rely on you after all, Loveless. I was skeptical because you are still a child…"

"A child member of Septimal Moon who is well versed in Tests and Executions." Soubi scoffed. "Don't underestimate my master."

"Clearly, I have." She chuckled. "But if your resolve is _that_ strong, then who am I to judge you as being not enough? No offense, but there have been two more murders, at your school no less, while you're dillydallying, trying to find the killer of my son."

"You think they're related?"

"All three were discovered at your school." She shrugged. "Either someone really hates you, is trying to frame or frighten you, or everything is connected somehow. Maybe connected back to my son, maybe to your school. You can't be the only one there, statistically speaking."

"There are others…"

"His student you made a promise to."

"And another in my classes, possibly more. Not everyone graduates through the Academy."

"Most of Septimal Moon didn't, actually." Soubi informed.

"I hate to ask, Aoyagi-kun, but is it possible that your brother could…"

"I've spoken with Seimei. He is…concerned…but I doubt he's behind this. Our truce is very fragile. He wouldn't do anything to risk it and piss me off. More so than I already am at him, anyway."

"Family is complicated, I suppose." She nodded. "I would know most of all…five kids, one failed relationship, another partially out the window…"

"Problems at home?" Ritsuka cocked an eyebrow.

"Husband's been distant for a while."

"Do you think your son could have seen something he shouldn't have?"

Her eyes narrowed. "If you're asking if my husband could be involved, you're barking up the wrong tree. Those other people might be connected to my son's case, the ones they found today? If they are and my son did see his step-father doing anything he shouldn't have been doing, there wouldn't be further casualties." She snorted. "I appreciate the concern, but its misplaced."

"It's not concern. Its information gathering."

He could feel her aura power up, the Sacrifice ready to go into battle if she had to, though she had no Fighter to be at her side.

"You're alone, Hostile. I wouldn't suggest starting a fight without backup." Soubi informed. "But if you insist…"

"No, I don't insist, I don't." She shook her head, aura dying down to a gentle thrum. "Pardon. You have to excuse my temperament. I mean no ill will here."

"Mhm." Ritsuka nodded. "If you think of more we need to know, don't hesitate to contact me. Regardless of the hour. If its urgent, send me a text saying so before you call or message anything else, otherwise I'll ignore it if I'm in school or otherwise busy."

"You got it." She bowed a little. "I appreciate the help, Aoyagi-sama. Please, find who murdered my son and bring them down, would you?"

"That is my full intention." Ritsuka nodded.

She turned on her heel and left, carrying her briefcase behind her. Ritsuka and Soubi watched her disappear into the night, listening until they could no longer hear or sense her around. The night was eerily quiet as they made their way down the street towards Ritsuka's development.

"Do you think the other murders are related?" Soubi asked after a few minutes.

"I'm not certain, but it's possible." Ritsuka nodded. "We'll have to wait on Nagisa's autopsy results."

"Unfortunately." Soubi sighed. "Nagisa…didn't mention whether she could determine where Kaji was killed, no?"

"Not that I recall, but I can look over her notes later. What are you thinking?"

"All three were killed elsewhere, if this is related. You didn't see any evidence that the crime scene was the murder scene either, did you?"

"No, but to be fair, I was more focused on the body. Hideki might have noticed, though."

"You're getting rather close to the Sweeper."

"Jealous?"

"Of course not." Soubi whisked Ritsuka into his arms, carrying the neko a few feet as he kissed him on the nose. "I know where your loyalty lies."

"As do I with yours." Ritsuka informed. "But having a Sweeper ally may prove to be beneficial to us."

"Indeed." Soubi nodded. "Are you ready to retire for the night? Shall we go back to my place?"

"Agatsuma Soubi." Ritsuka snickered. "Are you _trying_ to seduce me?"

"Not yet, kitten. When the time comes…" Soubi nipped at his human ear. "You'll know."

Ritsuka laughed as Soubi set him down. "My house is fine then, baka. I have to get some sleep before school anyway. It's best to stay home tonight in case I oversleep."

Soubi nodded. "I'll be sure to wake you in the morning."

Ritsuka yawned. "We have a long night ahead of us. If you think of anything when we part ways, write it down for me for tomorrow."

"As you wish."

The walk back to Ritsuka's home was silent. Once outside his window, Soubi hoisted Ritsuka up to reach the lower trellis. It was what he used to sneak up into Ritsuka's room, a habit since the day they met. Now, when they had work late at night, Ritsuka would do the same.

"Oyasumi." Soubi whispered.

"Oyasumi." Ritsuka climbed onto his balcony and used his key to unlock the door.

Once he was inside and Soubi heard the door lock, the blond made his way home. Inside, Ritsuka stripped and changed into pajamas, sliding under the covers. Thoughts of the murders and his encounter with Hostile overtook his dreams for the night. He'd only gotten more questions than answers. Hopefully Nagisa's report on the new murders would come in the next day and he'd get some more insight. The longer they waited, the more likely it was that someone else would die.


	14. So The Plot Thickens

Dlbn: Hey everyone Welcome back! Sorry about no update last weekend. The writing bug went away for this fic for a bit and I just didn't have time with everything else going on.

Nbld: But we do have good news. Got word from the state that I'm going to get rent help and I won't be homeless for Christmas. Yay!

Dlbn: Also, a manager I was close with at work got fired the other day, so his hours are being distributed to everyone. So more work for me, thankfully, since I need as much money as I can get.

Nbld: Hoping to be rid of the weekend job by next year because it's a pain trying to find a sitter for this ridiculous shift.

Dlbn: The other managers said they'd talk about giving me full time employment status with the DM (district manager, not dungeon master) so I can quit this other job and open my availability. Hopefully it works out.

Nbld: For now, we'll settle our nervously waiting stomachs with an update! The writing bug is back it it's bitten hard. Thank you to Promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Cookies for you both!

Promocat: I feel like if they were given enough of a chance in canon, and Seimei didn't get in the way all the damn time, they'd be pretty close. Like Yoji and Natsuo or Yamato and Koya close, maybe.

The DarkCat: Thanks! Things are looking up already here! *noms cake in one bite* Yummy! I'm not sure if they sue it a lot or if Nana just thought it was the only way to get ahold of Ritsuka (though he wouldn't have even known what it was if it weren't for Yayoi). I feel like she'd used it before to talk to him before he lost his memories, or thought Seimei told him about it. *shrug* Hostile is pretty fun to write. I want to have more of her in here, as well.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and some fan Units. Everything else is canon and belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off writing this work of fiction. It's just for fun.

000

Nagisa elected to give Ritsuka her report via a skype-style chat on a program designed and fortified by Seven herself. He was thankful that he didn't have to take the long trip to Gora again for something that would probably not bring up any leads, but having to make an excuse as to where he was for his mother so he could spend the night at Soubi's was a pain. Luckily, she wasn't about to call his friends or their parents any time soon like she had in sixth grade. The school, and surprisingly Ritsuka's father, had scolded her for doing that in the sixth grade. Even more surprisingly, she listened and hadn't caused him any problems. Yet.

"What did you find, Nagisa?" Ritsuka asked once a connection was established between the two Septimal Moon members.

"What kind of greeting his that, Loveless?" The bluenette pouted. "No _hi, Nagisa, how are you doing today_? _What's new with you, Sensei? Thanks for calling me instead of holding an audience with me all the way in Gora, Sensei…"_

"Okay, I'm sorry." Ritsuka rolled his eyes at the childish woman. "How are you, Nagisa? Thank you for video chatting me and saving me a trip.

"That's better. I'm doing well" She smirked as if she couldn't hear the sarcasm dripping from his words. "The victims are a Unit named Victorious."

"How ironic." Soubi observed.

Nagisa ignored him. "Hirotaka Nishi and Asako Haika, Sacrifice and Fighter, respectively. Name curled on the left hip. As for my findings, I'm afraid we might be looking at a serial killer of sorts here."

"Don't you think that's a rather rash conclusion, Nagisa?" Soubi interrupted.

"If I thought it was rash, I wouldn't conclude it." She said with an air of finality. "Same MO, same cause of death. Even the location of the body dump is relatively a copy, considering both were at your school, Aoyagi-kun. I'm afraid you might be a target next."

Ritsuka snorted. "Most people are too afraid of my brother and my Executioner status to make _me_ a target. Don't make me laugh, please, Sensei."

"Don't get cocky, Loveless. That kind of shit will get you hurt." Nagisa scolded. "Yes, you've made a name for yourself as an Executioner, and yes you are under the protection of your brother's destructive sociopathy, and yes you and Agatsuma make a rather formidable team. But if someone is determined enough or angry enough with you or Seimei for any reason, you can very well be a target."

"Hai, you're right. Gomen." Another eye roll.

At least he knew he was safe with Soubi around. The blonde would take off from classes and keep closer to the school if he had to, though Ritsuka didn't like him doing that often. His grades were suffering enough because he procrastinated every project, either because he was working, with Ritsuka, or just being plain lazy. Ritsuka couldn't make him take more time off just to get some protection during school hours. Since no one had been harmed during the day, that he knew of, it was safe to consider himself safe as long as it was daytime hours. If another death occurred, then he'd let Soubi take time off to be with him. Maybe.

"You told Ritsu you met up with another Unit the other day?" Nagisa wondered.

"Yes, her name is Hostile."

"Where's the other half?"

"I'm not certain. She's the Sacrifice, it would appear. The first victim is her son."

"Oh, I see…" Nagisa made a note. "Any useful information from her?"

"Nothing too concerning. Her name, family compilation…but she did fail to mention if any of her other children were Units or not. I'm assuming no, since that would be information we should know."

"I feel there's more you're not telling me…should we hold a conference with Septimal Moon?" Nagisa cocked an eyebrow.

"No, there's no need for an assembly in Gora." Ritsuka denied quickly. "I'm sure everyone has their own problems…"

"Is anything you learned something that you can wait until the next Executioner or Septimal Moon meeting to reveal?"

"Nothing of high importance, if that's what you're asking. There's four other younger siblings, Kaji's father is MIA, her current husband is distant, she remarried into the Akikaito family. First name, Tsumengi." Ritsuka paused. "She and her son were very open about their world to one another, but they rarely encountered the same people. She's not fond of his Sacrifice, either. Thinks she's useless. Probably due to her age, but also due to the fact that she couldn't tell Kaji was in danger after he went missing. She's also unaware of the existence of a Unit named Flightless. I wondered if her son may have seen her husband engaging in behaviors he shouldn't have, which might have resulted in his disappearance, but she insists no."

"We _are_ the most blind when it comes to our family or otherwise loved ones." Nagisa tapped a pen on her chin.

"Which explains you and Ritsu-sensei." Soubi offered.

She glared. "Put a muzzle on that one, would you, Loveless?"

"He might like it too much." Ritsuka commented. "I didn't get much further information from Hostile, but she agrees that the murders are connected, and that someone at my school may be the target. Even if it's not me, it could be possible that these bodies are a warning meant for someone there. I know two other Unit members, and there might even be more that I haven't been introduced to yet."

Nagisa nodded. "It's very possible. It might do you some good to meet with those other Units. See who they know, who else could be a target at the school, et cetera."

"Hai." Ritsuka nodded back. "I'll try and hold an audience with them outside of school hours. I'm not sure their status concerning one another. One has a Fighter in Gora, but for Tasteless, I'm not certain. He knew the Tamed Sacrifice when they went to the academy, however."

"And neither of them do now…you might find it worthwhile to look into their connection specifically." Nagisa stated. "He may know something we don't, and that she hasn't thought was relevant."

"Hai, I agree."

"You have your next step, then. Get something done. We can't afford another killing."

"Hai, Sensei. as you wish."

She reached towards the camera and turned off the webcam on her end. Ritsuka waited until his screen read _transmission complete_ before sighing and slinking into his chair.

"She's such a pain." He complained. "Do this, do that. Don't take forever. Sheesh, as if I don't know how to do my own damn job."

"Try growing up around her," Soubi informed, patting him on the shoulder. "I promise, it could be worse."

"I can't imagine how it would." He stated. "She's probably just annoyed with your quip about Ritsu." He waved it off.

"You can't help but make the comparison. She isn't as clever as she thinks she is, especially with hiding it."

"I'm pretty sure even Ritsu noticed, and he's blind as a bat."

"Not anymore."

"You know what I mean…"

He'd gone through extensive surgery to repair damage done by Seimei's knife a few years prior. The surgery was still in the experimental phase, so it was a hit or miss. Luckily for Ritsu, it was a hit.

"Hai, id o." Soubi kissed the tip of his nose. "But you're just so adorable when you're flustered. I couldn't resist."

"Baka." Ritsuka accused, rolling his eyes.

"You know you love me."

"That I do." Ritsuka leaned back and kissed the blonde on the chin. "How in the world am I supposed to get a meeting set up with Taika and Mako together, let alone when they both go to my school and _don't_ float around in my social circle?"

"Shall I plant notes in the lockers? It won't be hard to get past security when security is our Sweepers patrolling."

Ritsuka nodded. He opened a document writing app on his computer and typed something out. Printing off two copies, he signed his given name in kanji and handed them to Soubi.

"These will do for now. It's as formal as I can get. Deliver them now. I should head to bed, myself."

"You do that." Soubi kissed the top of his head. "I'll be back shortly. Do not wait up for me. You need your sleep."

"I'm the one that said I have to go to bed, so I'm pretty sure I know that already."

Soubi chuckled. "I suppose so."

Ritsuka watched the tall blonde grab his jacket off the coat rack and slip it on, along with his shoes. Soubi blew him a kiss as he left making him laugh. Hopefully the notes would be enough to convince the other Units to meet him. For now, he couldn't worry about that. He needed his sleep, regardless of what happened the next day.

000

Ritsuka was only a little surprised when Mako and Taika both showed up at a café near the school an hour after classes let out. Soubi had classes for another two hours, so he went alone. it made more sense, anyway, since the other two were going to be alone. Ritsuka greeted them both with a small wave. They seemed confused as they joined him.

"What's going on, Loveless?" Mako asked.

"You asked to meet with me, right…?" Taika added.

"I asked to meet with you both, actually. Three heads are better than two in this case." Ritsuka took a sip of his tea. "Can I get you guys anything?"

"I'm fine." Taika stated.

"I'm not allowed snacks after school, since we eat dinner early." Mako shook her head.

"I see." Ritsuka smiled gently. "I hope you both have some idea as to why I've asked you both to meet here."

"Is this about the…you know…deaths…?" Mako wondered softly.

Ritsuka nodded.

"I don't have anything I could tell you, Aoyagi, I'm sorry." Taika shook his head.

"I don't think I do, either. I told you everything I knew about Sensei going missing."

"I'm more concerned with the other Unit at this point." Ritsuka admitted. "I've spoken with Kaji's mother, and she's given me some leads I'll be checking out with my Fighter later on."

"Hostile?" Taika asked. "I met her once. I was working on a project with Akito, the Sacrifice? And Kaji showed up. His mother came to get him an hour later for whatever reason. Something about her needing to go to work and needing him to watch the siblings. She's okay, but her and Akito don't get along."

"She mentioned that." Ritsuka paused for a second. "How about Kaji and his mother…?"

"He always told us stories of his mom." Mako stated. "I'm pretty sure they're close."

"Akito said they were too close." Taika shook his head. "I don't think there's any animosity between them."

"Tamed informed me that she and Kaji had no family in the area, and that his wouldn't care if he died."

"No way." Mako and Taika both shook their heads.

"He was with his mom all the time if he wasn't with his girlfriend."

"He had a girlfriend?"

"He probably referred to Suka-chan as his girlfriend." Mako shrugged. "Sometimes I call Bushido my boyfriend so my mom will stop asking me why I'm not dating yet…"

"Your Fighter?"

"Suka Bushido, yes."

"Any relation to…?"

"Not that I'm aware of. He didn't mention it, but I'll ask him when I speak to him next."

Ritsuka nodded. "And neither of you have been contacted by Flightless, correct?"

"I haven't." Taika shook his head. "My Sacrifice hasn't either."

"You're a Fighter?" Maiko wondered. "Why aren't you at the school?"

"My family moved here for my father's job, and I got yanked out. They didn't want me living there." Taika shook his head. "I'm fine on my own."

"If you say so." Maiko rolled her eyes.

He rolled his back, but Ritsuka could see a blush tinting his cheeks. Dear god, he didn't want to get involved with this.

"Anything else you can tell me?" Ritsuka wondered.

"I don't know anything else." Mako shrugged. "If I do, I'll let you know, but…"

"Same here." Taika agreed. "But I'm drawing a blank right now."

"I do have one question, Taika."

"Hai?"

"You said you worked on a school project with Suka Akito, correct?"

"Yeah."

"What grade were you in?"

"We were in fourth. It was my last project before I moved away."

"I have spoken to Suka Akito…she's at _least_ nineteen years old. She would have been in seventh grade, _middle_ school, while you were in elementary."

"What?" Taika shook his head. "No, I'm positive I worked with Suka Akito, the Sacrifice of Tamed on a research project into the flora and fauna of the school grounds when I was in fourth grade. She was in my class. Neither of us had our other halves yet…"

"But Aoyagi wouldn't make up something just for shock value, right?" Mako shook her head. "If he spoke to someone who said they were the Sacrifice of Tamed, and they were at least nineteen years old…"

Realization slid across Ritsuka's face quicker than he meant it to.

"Then who did I talk to…?"


	15. Face to Face

Dlbn: Hey, everyone. Welcome back!

Nbld: Let's get on with the Review Corner! Thank you to The DarkCat and promocat for reviewing! Candy for you both!

The DarkCat: Thank you! Yes, you got the name right. Sometimes I even forget names ^^" I have an excel spreadsheet and a few notebook pages dedicated to just keeping everyone lined up XD More mystery coming up!

Promocat: Thank you! Ritsuka just has his suspicions now, but he's going to try and find out. They have their ways, after all ;) Thanks! Glad you're enjoying!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and some OCs. The canon things belong to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off writing this work of fiction. I just have fun.

000

Ritsuka tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for Soubi to pick up the phone. He called twice and no answer. He was probably in class, but he would have used their bond. If something had happened to him, he swore to god…

"Rit-chan?" Kio's voice greeted on the phone. "I'm glad you called! I wouldn't have known his phone was here if you hadn't."

"Soubi's not with you?"

"He went home to make dinner for you guys." Kio replied. "I guess his phone fell out of his bag. You sound terrible. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Kio. I forgot to tell him to pick me up is all."

"Want me to give you a lift? I've gotta go that way anyway to meet up with Akira," his fiancé, "to pick out a cake. I can give you his phone for him. Where are you?"

"Blossom Café."

"I'll be there in ten minutes. It's been forever since I saw you. We should catch up. See you!"

"Yeah, see you, Kio. Thanks."

"Of course, Rit-chan. Anything for you."

Waiting for Kio was the longest ten minutes of Ritsuka's life, though the greenette artist had made it in eight. He got into the passenger seat and buckled up.

"How's school?" Kio asked. "Keeping up with your studies?"

"Yeah, I'm at the top of my class." Ritsuka nodded, taking the phone being handed to him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. That's great. I don't want you shrinking in your academic career like Soubi has, alright?"

"I wouldn't dream of it, Kio. I have better work ethic than he does."

"Rare in someone your age, it would seem." Kio laughed. "I've been following the stories for those murders on the news. Scary stuff."

"You're telling me."

Inside he was shaking. Who the heck was he talking to that introduced themselves as Kaji's Sacrifice? If the real Akito was only sixteen or seventeen, then this couldn't be her. Unless he was wrong about her age? That would make more sense than someone faking being her. But, considering someone was faking being Flightless, it wouldn't be a stretch. Besides, Akito would have known that Kaji had family in the area, his mother, who cared about him deeply and would want to make funeral arrangements. Whoever this was, they wanted to know how to get the body for a reason. If it was one of the killers, the mysterious unit, he shuddered to think what could have happened if he'd gone to talk to _her_ on his own, or when he went without Soubi and took Hideki instead. They were both Sacrifices, and while Ritsuka could master a few simple techniques to bide them time, it might not be enough against a powerful Fighter. Then again, there wasn't much of an aura around her, so she was either cloaked very well or was a Sacrifice. A Sacrifice on his own, he could take down. A Fighter? Not so much.

He kept on small talk with Kio while he formulated thoughts in his mind, trying to wrap his head around the new concept. Kio went on about how stressful wedding planning was and blabbered on about what kind of cake he wanted versus what Akira wanted, but Ritsuka didn't really care. Could he see himself marrying Soubi one day? Sure. But that didn't mean he was going to be one of those people that fully planned their weddings as children. That would have just bene ridiculous on his part. Yuiko had made comments before about what kind of dress she wanted, but thankfully, that was as far as that went. Osamu shared his sentiment and didn't discuss it either. Things changed rather easily. There was no reason to put everything on lock now when he had years to plan. After all, Soubi was wasting time in getting rid of his ears, so there was no doubt he'd waste time before proposing.

"Do you think you're going to marry Soubi one day, Rit-chan? You're being awfully quiet."

"Huh?" Ritsuka wondered. "I don't know…one day, maybe." He shrugged. "I'm not going to plan everything out right now like some people I know do, but I can see it happening."

Kio smiled softly. "Good, because, honestly, that's Soubi's end game with you."

"What?"

"He doesn't have to say it, but I know he's going to end up asking you. He's been asking me a lot about Akira's proposal and rings and junk." Pointless to ask since he'd helped pick out the ring and he and Ritsuka helped Akira and his parents pull off his proposal. "He really loves you, you know. I know you went through a lot of bull just to be together, but it made your bond stronger."

"You have no idea." Ritsuka laughed.

"Pretty sure I do. A lot of mine and Akira's dates were disasters in the beginning, but it brought us closer together."

"Yeah, I get what you mean, Kio, I do." Ritsuka paused. "Can I ask you something…?"

"Hai?"

"Your ears…?"

"Oh? What about them?"

"You…you lost them before Akira, right…?"

"Rit-chan, you've known me three years longer than Akira, so you should know the answer to that question."

"Yeah, but…I mean…how did you…er…?"

"Has no one had the talk with you yet? God lord, you're sixteen. I know your parents suck, no offense, but your school should have given you a sex ED class…"

"They did, and they covered jack squat about homosexual relationships." Ritsuka informed. "But that's not what I'm asking."

"Okay…?"

"How did you know you were ready…? Because I think I am, but Soubi won't…um…"

"It's…not easy for him either, you know." Kio stated. "He wants to. Really badly. But he won't because he doesn't want to hurt you. He lost his ears young. He doesn't want you to make the mistake as well."

"He didn't lose them by choice…" Ritsuka explained. "But…I would be. I know Soubi wouldn't do… _that_ to me. He's not…like that…"

Like Ritsu.

"I know." Kio nodded. "A lot of people regret losing them younger. I know I do."

"You do?"

"Don't get me wrong. Despite her obvious objections to my wedding plans, I wouldn't trade Shikiko for anything. I know I haven't been there for her, mostly because of my family, but just knowing she's around because of me…it means something, you know? Do I wish I lost my ears to someone else? Yeah, definitely. Someone I loved, instead of a friend my family set me up to have sex with so they could get an heir out of me before they tossed me away." His tone was bitter, but it wasn't directed at the teenager. "To Akira. Hell, to _Soubi_. You know our previous relationship status."

"The one I got in the way of…"

"No, the one your _brother_ got in the way of. Threatened Soubi into ending it between us. It hurt, yeah, but seeing him happy is the best revenge on Seimei I can get. And I'm happy with Akira. I wouldn't trade him for anything either. He's been a real light in my life, considering my past being sort of shit." He laughed. "I'm sure you and Soubi feel the same about one another. I don't know the full backstory for either of you, and it's not really my business, but I see how he looks at you when you're not looking."

"I know he's just got my best interest at heart, but seriously, it's a pain in the ass!" His ears flattened. "I can wait for him, and I plan on it. But I don't…"

"You don't want to."

"Right…"

"It won't change anything between you, you and I both know that. But to Soubi, you being of legal age _and_ being willing are very major factors in him taking your ears."

"He keeps saying _all in due time_."

"He has a plan. I'm not sure what it is, but I think he has a plan. Maybe he wants to wait until your wedding night, or after he proposes to you; I don't know. Just try and wait it out, have patience with him. I know it's frustrating, but you can get off without his help, you know. I'll buy you something if you're too embarrassed…"

"I don't want anything like that!" Ritsuka blushed, "I just want Soubi."

"I know. And trust me, it's worth the wait." Kio pulled up to the house. "I know you don't like hearing that _all in due time_ nonsense he spews like vomit all the time, but it's true. When the time comes, it will happen. Just don't try and force it, or you may both end up regretting it…okay?"

"Yeah…thanks, Kio."

"Like I said, anything for you, Ritsuka." Kio grinned. "You make Soubi happy, you know…I'm glad you came into his life. I am."

"Don't get sappy on me…"

"Too late." Kio practically unbuckled him for him and shoved him out of the car.

He honked and drove away as Ritsuka waved. Maybe Kio had a point. But he was still going to complain about it!

"Ritsuka?" Soubi wondered from the doorway. "Who beeped?"

"Kio gave me a ride." Ritsuka ascended. "You left your phone at his place."

"…I tore up mine looking for that…"

Ritsuka laughed, handing him the cell phone. "Well done."

"Did you learn anything?"

"Soubi, this place is a disaster!"

"I told you I tore it up trying to find my phone." Soubi chuckled, taking his young almost-lover's coat. "Did you learn anything from Mako and Taika?"

"Taika is a Fighter, his Sacrifice may or may not be related to the Tamed Sacrifice." Ritsuka shrugged. "But…we have a problem, Soubi."

"What is it?" Concern hit his features faster than he could hide it.

"When we first met Akito, the Tamed Sacrifice? What did she say about funeral arrangements?"

"That she would like to know when she can get the body to make arrangements, since neither of them have family around. And his wouldn't care if he was dead, anyway."

"Which we know to be…?"

"False. Hostile is his mother and she is genuinely concerned. She also says they were close, but she doesn't get along with Suka Akito, Tamed."

"Which Taika confirmed. He worked with Akito on a school project. Kaji had been there, and his mother took him away to watch his siblings so she could work."

"School project? Isn't he in your grade?"

"Yes."

"Akito is at least nineteen…that's not possible." Soubi shook his head.

"Taika left Seven Voices in the middle of fourth grade, since his family was moving and wanted to take him with them." Ritsuka started to pace. "She would have been in seventh grade; middle school."

"They couldn't have worked together on a project."

"She gave us false information." Ritsuka stated. "She knows we're trying to find her Fighter's killers. Her Fighter, whom she loved dearly and was devoted to; despite his mother's feelings."

"Hostile spoke with Akito after Kaji's death. She told us that Akito came to her bawling and apologizing. If this person isn't really Akito, she would have known that. Meaning she may have also lied to us."

"I don't think she did." Ritsuka stated. "If the person we talked to _isn't_ Akito, then the _real_ Akito is around somewhere, and she knows he's dead."

"It's been on the news."

"But with their bond, she'd know as well."

"You think there's two Suka Akito?"

"Flightless is deceased, but Tamed ran into a Flightless."

"Hai?"

"Someone is pretending to be Suka Akito…someone is pretending to be _Flightless_."

"Hai…?" Soubi asked. "Where are you going with this, Ritsuka?"

"Soubi…I think we came face to face with one of Kaji's killers…"


	16. Digging For Clues

Dlbn: Hello, everyone! And merry Christmas Eve to those who celebrate.

Nbld: Let's get a move on with the Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Christmas cookies for you both!

Promocat: I'm not certain what they-especially Soubi-would do without Kio. He's never going to give up those two, though ;)

The DarkCat: That he is! He's always going to be their voice of reason, confidant, and ever loyal friend. Correct, he's not married to Akira yet. That will take place after the conclusion of this fic, but I'm not going to write another wedding fic for them.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and non-canon Units. Everything else belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off writing this. If I did, I could buy things I want.

Dedication: Merry Christmas Eve, all! And a late happy birthday to Ritsuka! (December 21)

000

The term _overkill_ would be too easy of a word for what happened a few hours later, after Ritsuka explained the situation from Ritsu and received a hasty go ahead to raid Tamed's residence. Ritsuka had half a mind to talk to the Unit Shameless from the Yokohama incident. They'd sent Ritsuka to Akito's house. The Sacrifice said he grew up next door to Kaji, and that Akito was always pissing people off. The Fighter even knew Tamed's work schedule for the weekends. But if she was Ritsuka's age, either she graduated early or she dropped out. This was all adding up to feel like a conspiracy theory, in a way, but Ritsuka hoped it wouldn't be something that stupid.

Sweepers were tearing apart the apartment as Soubi and Ritsuka stood watch at the front door while Hideki walked around, keeping an eye on his team and keeping an eye out for anything they might have missed. A police unit that was a part of their world had sectioned the place off with police caution tape to keep unwanted guests out, and were doing damage control and keeping people away at the edge of the property line where the tape was.

"No stone unturned." Hideki ordered the sweepers as he helped someone take apart the couch. "If there's anything of importance here, we need it."

"Be as thorough as possible. Dust for prints if you must, but try and keep the place relatively unharmed." Ritsuka ordered, picking at his nails. "The occupants aren't home, but stay on high alert. They might be a Unit, and they might be looking for a fight."

"With all the commotion, I doubt they're going to come out any time soon." Soubi stated. "They may know we're onto them, as well, if anyone we've spoken to has been helping them out."

"I hope no one's that stupid, or I'm tossing them to the wolves." Ritsuka muttered.

Soubi chuckled. "I think you mean Zero."

"Yes, yes I do."

000

An hour and a half later and the Sweepers hadn't found anything of interest. Almost all personal belongings were missing from the house, and it was virtually fingerprint free. It was as if someone wiped down _everything_ to make sure there wasn't any sign of them being there. Hideki shrugged and shook his head at Ritsuka.

"They were thorough. We've looked through everything. Whoever we spoke to may as well just be a ghost. They just vanished." He informed the ravenette. "I'm sorry, Loveless, we did our best."

"We're been informal up to this point, Hideki, I see no reason to change that now." Ritsuka informed. "I half expected to come up empty, no offense. If this all adds up the way I think it's adding up, they're professionals…"

"Almost like Faceless." Soubi informed.

"But I remember the face of the person we met with." Ritsuka stated. "So, I doubt they're involved."

"It might be worth talking to them…" Hideki offered. "I don't mean to intrude where it isn't my place, but they're experts at getting in and out quickly, right?"

"Without being remembered due to their name's power." Ritsuka nodded. "Advice noted, Hideki, but I need permission to seek them out, as they require payment."

"Understood." Soubi stated. "I'll get the request in to Mikado ASAP."

"See that you do." Ritsuka nodded once. "For now, it might be worth talking to Shameless again. They're the ones that led us here."

Soubi nodded. "I agree."

Ritsuka pulled a notebook from his pocket and flipped it to a page he was keeping contact information on. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed the Sacrifice's number.

"Hello?" He wondered. "Who is this?"

"Loveless." Ritsuka greeted. "Am I speaking to Jime Iza?"

"Yeah, this is Shameless." The boy replied. "How can I help you, Aoyagi?"

"I need to speak with your and your Fighter ASAP. Its urgent."

"I can sneak out. If my wife asks, I went for milk. Utena lives in a halfway house, so she can leave whenever and they won't notice."

"Where are you in reference to Yokohama and Tokyo?"

"I'm a ten-minute walk from Tokyo Central Park."

"Meet us there, in the picnic clearings, in half an hour."

"Hai, Aoyagi."

"If you're not there within forty minutes, I'll send the Hunters to find you instead."

Hunters were another name Zero went by as Executioners. Though they weren't around, the threat would hopefully be enough.

"Understood. See you soon."

They hung up.

"Tokyo…"

"I heard." Soubi nodded. "Put me through to Ritsu. It's urgent…I don't care if he's taking a dump, you put him on the damn phone."

Ritsuka giggled into his hand.

"His patience is wearing thin." Hideki observed.

"I'm afraid that with Ritsu-sensei, he doesn't _have_ any patience." Ritsuka shook his head. "The man complains Soubi never calls, and when he does, his secretary gives excuse after excuse for why he can't talk."

"We need permission to seek Faceless… _yes_ , that is something for us to discuss with Gomon, but if you're still unaware after working there so long, she cannot be bothered after six pm unless otherwise noted, and it is currently 8:30 pm." Soubi informed. "No, this can't…" He handed Ritsuka the phone. "Please…"

Ritsuka took it. "This is Aoyagi." He greeted.

"Aoyagi-sama, I am sorry to turn down your Fighter's request, but Ritsu-sensei wishes to not be disturbed." The secretary greeted. "I'll be happy to leave him a memo for the morning…"

"By the time morning comes, it may be too late." Ritsuka informed. "Whatever Minami is up to right now can wait a few minutes. I just have a simple request. It's just a yes or no answer here. If I don't act now, my trail goes cold and all chances I had of finding these killers goes out the window."

"Yes, I…hold on." The woman stated. "Aoyagi says its urgent. I tried to tell him you…oh…okay, yes sir."

"What is it, Aoyagi?" Ritsu asked.

"I knew you weren't too busy for your favorite Aoyagi." Ritsuka commented.

"I wouldn't say you're my favorite. I'm rather certain you have a half-sister, yes? Since I don't know her, I think I like her the best."

"Can the bull, Ritsu." Ritsuka rolled his eyes. "We got nothing here."

"Nothing whatsoever?"

"It's too professional a job. Can't even find a print or a speck of dust _anywhere_."

"That's troubling…"

"And has Faceless written all over it." Ritsuka informed. "I need permission to make contact. I know they require payment…"

"You've got permission. Do whatever you have to do. Just report to me in the morning."

"Arigato, Sensei. And my authorization?"

"158,879 Yen. You can go over by 100 maximum. Start them off with 150,000. I know they'll try and barter you up."

"Arigato, Sensei. 158,879 Yen, give or take 100 it is. Starting at 150,000."

"Now, may I talk to…"

Ritsuka hung up and handed the phone over. "Oh, the phone died…"

Soubi chuckled, instantly muting the call that came through from Ritsu a moment later.

"I'll contact them via email tonight." Ritsuka stated. "For now, we have a meeting to get to."


	17. You're My Happiness

Dlbn: Hello, everyone! Welcome to the last update of the 2017 year!

Nbld: 2016 was complete shit, 2017 was slightly better, and hopefully 2018 will be good. Let's get to the Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Fireworks and chocolate for you!

Promocat: Glad you liked! I figure by now he's as sick of Ritsu's crap as Soubi is XD

The DarkCat: Thanks! I couldn't resist with that line XD

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and various non-canon units. Anyone, place, or thing canon belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money from writing this piece!

Dedication: Dedicated to my readers and reviewers in honor of the new year, beginning soon (its almost 11 PM for me). Thanks for reading, favoriting, following, reviewing, and just clicking on my fic in general. This was one of the stories I was most excited to start posting towards the end of the year, even if focusing on it made my holiday and Ritsuka birthday fics late. Whoops. Thank you all, and I'll see you next year!

000

Shameless was already waiting at the picnic area when Ritsuka arrived. The ravenette smirked inside, knowing his threat of sending in Zero worked.

"Loveless, we got here before you." Iza greeted. "Shocking. You're normally early, so I've been told."

"I had other matters to attend to." Ritsuka replied.

"How can we help you, Loveless?" Utena, the Fighter, wondered.

"The information you gave me about Tamed."

"Were you not able to meet her?"

"Oh, we met…someone." Ritsuka explained. "That's why I need you to fill me in."

"On what?" Iza huffed. "We don't know more than what we told you."

" _You_ don't." Soubi clarified. "But _she_ does."

He laughed. "Are you insinuating my Fighter kept secrets from me?"

"Not at all." Ritsuka spoke up. "But since she gave us the information to make contact, she's the one we need to be talking to."

"Then why am I here?"

"You're her Sacrifice."

He scoffed. "And? She can handle being interrogated. Can't you, Tena?"

"H-Hai, Iza. Of course." She nodded.

"Then can I go?"

"No, you may not." Ritsuka snapped. "I summoned you _both_ here."

He sighed. "Fine. If my wife realizes that I snuck out again, she's going to…"

"This won't take long. If you need, we will go with you and Soubi can erase her memory of you being gone." Ritsuka stated, turning to the Fighter. "You. Talk."

"Talk?" She asked. "You made contact with Akito…er… _Tamed_ , right? What else do you need to know?"

"The person we spoke to…it is not certain whether or not they are _really_ Akito of Tamed."

Iza laughed. "What? Then who did you talk to?"

"That's what I'm hoping to find out." Ritsuka informed. "This person told me that Kaji has no family around, and that they wouldn't care about his death anyway. I have contradictory information from witnesses, including his own _mother_ , whom he was very close with, that _clearly_ state otherwise." He watched her get red faced, wringing her hands. "I've also been informed by a former classmate of Akito that she is, in fact, sixteen. The person I met is at _least_ nineteen, if not eighteen."

"Maybe they're wrong…?" Utena smiled sheepishly. "His mother could be pretending to care, and maybe your witness is thinking of someone else!"

"Everyone seems to be on the same page, _except_ for the Suka Akito that Soubi and I, as well as a Sweeper, have spoken to." Ritsuka continued, arms folded over his chest. Thanks to his brother's continuous bullshit, he had _zero_ tolerance for being lied to. "I think you know who we _really_ spoke to."

"I don't! I sent you to Akito's house! Promise!"

"You grew up with Kaji, didn't you, Iza?"

"I did." He nodded.

"You were friends?"

"We were."

"And you understand the bond he had with his mother, correct? There's no way that the information _Akito_ gave us concerning his family was correct?"

"Yeah."

"Tell me about his family."

"Uh…it was just him and his mom for a while. I have no idea where the father is, and I don't think he does, either." He shook his head. "Mother remarried…they had two kids while I lived near them, but the last time I talked to Kaji, he said there were four younger siblings in his family."

"Any idea where they are?"

"Hostile would never be too far from her son. She's a little clingy to him since his father left." He shrugged. "Kaji taught at your school, so he has to live around here. He wouldn't bother with a commute. His mother can't be too far behind."

"And her Fighter?"

"I never met him, sorry." He shook his head. "But Kaji spoke highly of him. I guess he helped train him a bit after the Academy. He had a pretty rough time there."

Ritsuka nodded. "Consistent with Hostile's information." He looked to the Fighter. "Anything to say for yourself?"

"I promise, I told you everything!"

"I don't want to have to fight you, but if it's what it takes to get the right information…"

"No, no." Iza put up a hand. "She'll talk. No need to fight here."

"I don't know anything!" She insisted.

He grabbed her roughly by the arm. "I'm not squaring off with an _Executioner_. I have a family to get back to, Utena, and I'm _not_ wasting my night playing games because you're protecting someone who isn't me."

"Let go…" She ordered. "I said I don't know anything more!"

"I'm not believing you, and neither are they." He pointed to Loveless. "So, _talk_. That's an _order_!"

"I don't know…"

"Stop your lying." He ordered, looking like he wanted to smack her, but was holding back because he knew Loveless did not allow _any_ Fighter to be abused by their Sacrifice; in his presence or in private. "We don't have _time_ for this. If Yumiko calls, I'm _not_ explaining why I snuck off on her again to spend time with you. She's suspicious of us as it is."

"She's going to have to get used to it. I'm not going anywhere."

"She has a point." Soubi offered.

Ritsuka shushed him. "Not our place."

"You're going to go somewhere when I get through with you if you don't start talking."

"Abuse of a Fighter is _not_ something I take lightly, Jime Iza." Ritsuka stated. "Continue this line of behavior in my presence and I _will_ initiate a fight."

"If you don't talk, Utena, I am going to start a fight _myself_."

"Alright, alright!" She caved, looking down. "I…I'll explain everything I know…"

He let go of her arm. "Good. Stupid girl…" He complained. "Talk."

"They…they told me their name was Flightless." She began. "I-I was told that if I…if I didn't want…didn't want you to end up like Kaji…that I'd…that I'd help them lie and cover their tracks to the Executioners, and anyone else involved…"

"Where's the name?" Ritsuka asked.

"Inside of the wrist." She informed. "I-I didn't know what else to do…I just thought they were going to make up some dumb story. I didn't think they'd…Akito…is…is she okay…? God, I didn't even think…has anyone _seen_ her?"

"She spoke with Hostile after Kaji's passing, yes." Ritsuka nodded. "She's alright, as far as we know. But that can change in an instant."

She nodded, head hung low anyway. "I-I'm sorry…I didn't know what to do…I just…I _had_ to protect Iza…but he didn't know any of this; I swear. Please, if you must punish anyone, let it be me. Let him go. I was just protecting him…like any good Fighter would…"

"You should have come to me, baka." He brushed bangs from her face. "Tena, don't ever hide anything from me again, okay? Nothing like this, anyway. I don't care _who_ comes after me. If we're together, we're unstoppable."

"I-I know that…in my heart, I know that." She nodded. "But…I let my fear consume me…" She buried her face in his shoulder. "I know you'd toss me aside in a heartbeat if Yumiko asked you to…and you'd have her to take my place…I don't _have_ that luxury. I'm a Fighter…if you cast me aside, I'm as good as dead. I have no one…my family abandoned me…I live in a halfway house…without you, I've got nothing; I'm worthless…I was afraid…afraid I'd fail you…"

His gaze softened. "Tena…you…you never have to worry about that, okay?" He pulled her into a hug. "I'll never toss you away. I don't care how hard she begs me. I'd leave Yumiko before I left you."

"You…what…?"

"She's my wife, my partner…and I love her to death. But _you're_ also my partner…you're my other half. My _destiny_ …without you…" He held her tight. "I'm sorry…if anything like that happens ever again, you come to me…we'll figure it out together, okay?"

She looked up, tears in her eyes. "I didn't want them to hurt you…" She informed. "Because I…"

"You're my Fighter and you want to protect me. I know."

"No, you don't." She held onto his arms as she pulled away. "I let you get taken away. I thought you'd be happier with a civilian than with me…and not a day goes by that I don't kick myself in the ass for it…for never…never telling you…"

"Never telling me _what_ , Utena?"

How could he be so thick? Even Ritsuka could see the words bursting on the young woman's tongue.

"How much I'm in love with you…"

Time froze.

"I…" He blinked. "You…are…?"

"Since the day we met…" She nodded sadly, looking away. "I never told you. I thought you deserved better than a Fighter…I…"

"I wish you had told me…but I love Yumiko…"

"I know." She sniffled. "I shouldn't be telling you this, I know."

"Don't…don't you _ever_ think that just because you're a Fighter, it makes you less than me…makes you unworthy…you're _my_ Fighter. You're already worthy."

"I-Iza…" She launched herself at him again, burying her face in his shoulder and sobbing.

"It's okay…it's okay…" He rubbed the back of her head, a stark contrast to how he was behaving with her a moment ago. "Please…Loveless…I'll undo any damage that was done by my Fighter's deception…just…please…don't…"

Ritsuka put up a hand. "Cease your begging." He ordered. "Utena, do you know anything else about them? Where they could have gone?"

She shook her head. "I swear to you; I don't." She replied. "I only knew them as Flightless, at that address…"

"What do they look like?"

"The Sacrifice has honey eyes, and the Fighter has green, but they both have raven black hair; like you. Neither have ears…" She paused.

"Male or female?"

"I…couldn't tell you." She shook her head. "I thought male, but there's no Adam's apple, and no breasts either…so I don't…they were wearing baggy clothes, though, so there could have been something I wasn't seeing. I only thought about protecting Iza. I never thought about remembering details…"

Ritsuka showed her the photographs of Faithless from years ago. "Do you recognize them?"

"Not at all." She shook her head. "Should I?"

"Those are photographs of Flightless…from over thirty years ago." Soubi informed.

Utena ripped herself from Iza, grabbing the photographs to get a better look. "That's impossible. They're about my age, maybe Iza's…and they looked nothing like this…"

"The name is in the wrong place, as well. You were duped."

"There…was never really a threat…?"

"I'm not sure how real the threat was, but it would do good to stay close together and stay on high alert." Ritsuka replied. "I don't know if they know what you told me, but their little escape proves that, at the very least, they know what I know."

They both nodded. "We'll keep our bond open…" Utena stated. "I-If that's okay, Iza…"

"You're staying at my place tonight, no exception." He shook his head. "I'll tell Yumiko you called me for help because you were being chased. She's got a cousin that was attacked like that. She'll be sympathetic for the night."

"But…she hates me…what if…I don't want to start a fight…" She paused. "I don't want to get in the way of your happiness."

He took her hands in his. "Utena, you _are_ my happiness."

"Iza…"

"We'll be going…contact us if you need anything, and especially if you hear from them again." Ritsuka stated.

The Unit didn't seem to hear him, too busy staring at one another and using their bond to silently communicate. Soubi gently took the teen's hand and led him away, nodding his head towards the clearing.

"What happens from here is not our business unless _Flightless Akito_ get involved." Soubi informed.

"We need to locate the _real_ Akito."

"Where do we start?"

"We speak to Hostile again. Set up an appointment with her for me, would you? I'll contact Faceless tonight."

"Hai.

"Hopefully the trail doesn't go cold, and they don't just jerk me around. I know they're on my brother's payroll."

"Your brother's payroll is _just don't cross me and I won't kill you_. I'm sure we can sway them with Ritsu's 150,000 Yen."

Ritsuka sighed. "I sure hope so." He looked back at the couple, only to find that they had left.

"Something on your mind?" Soubi asked.

"A few years ago, Soubi…that was us…you pulled away by Seimei…and me on my own…"

The blonde stopped, pulling Ritsuka into a hug and tilting his chin up. "You're my happiness, Aoyagi Ritsuka."


	18. The Sooner, The Better

Dlbn: Hey, everyone! Sorry about the long haitus and the uber short chapter, but I wanted to alert you guys of something.

Nbld: My subscription for Microsoft Office 365 ran out the other day and I no longer have access to Word and other Office programs. Posting is a huge process that I don't really have time for with a two year old.

Dlbn: So until I can find a way to pay for another year and/or the full thing from a store (I don't think they even make the full thing anymore) it's going to be hard to update, so I probably won't. I'm working off Google Docs now with no idea of if it's going to work.

Nbld: Obviously, if you're reading this, it has worked. As for the shortness of the chapter, the next paragraph and what happens after are unfinished as of now, so we cut off where we could. Anyway, let's hop into the Review Corner! Thank you to promocat, The DarkCat, and halbarath for reviewing! Candy for you all!

Promocat: I feel like the human aspect of everyone was explored descently in the manga, but more could have been done. I think it takes a special person to be part of a Unit. Destiny means nothing if you don't have the will and personal strength to back it up.

The DarkCat: Thank you! With him, it was more of "my wife is going to start drama again because of this, so hurry the hell up". But he really does care about his Fighter. Only a few Sacrifices are as abusive as say, Seimei and Ritsu are, I believe, but you never know. Anyone who knows RItsuka, though, knows that he's not going to stand for that kind of garbage. Partially because of his pacifism, partially on behalf of Soubi and his history with cruel masters.

Halbarath: It's been a while! Sometimes I even get the names mixed up ^^" I started documenting everything on paper so I have it somewhere when I need it, everything from true name to given name and hair/eye colors. I think his feelings towards it is, as I said up above, half because he's a pacifist, and half because Soubi went through hell.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but fan characters! Ritsuka, and everyone/everything else canon belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off writing this. None of my personal characters appear in this very short chapter.

000

Faceless and Ritsuka worked their way through bartering and settled at 156,000 Yen, and plans to meet at Wandering Lotus Café on the other side of town once school let out that Saturday for Ritsuka. the neko wasn't certain how he felt about meeting them for the first time. He and Soubi wouldn't know them, but he hoped they were at least recognizable. He knew they had dealt with both Mikado and Seimei in the past, so if they recognized him by comparing him to his brother, then so be it. That wasn't that he would be _happy_ if they did, but whatever got them to find out who they were supposed to meet worked for him. Ritsuka sat in a booth in the back with his Fighter, munching on a snack of chocolate cake and warm tea. Soubi wasn't interested in eating, preferring to just sit there and work on a written assignment for his theory III class instead. A tall woman with long pink hair joined them with a male a little shorter than her, with the same piercing green eyes but blonde hair.

"Aoyagi?" She greeted, voice smooth as silk.

He looked up. "Shigemori siblings?" He asked.

"I believe our true names would be more appropriate here." She stated. "Got the Yen?"

"Got my information?"

She held up a flash drive. He pulled an envelope from his pocket.

"I'm not stupid. I want to see the files before I pay for them. It could be blank for all I know."

"Seimei said you were a cautious thing." The girl sighed. "Whatever. I brought my laptop just for that reason, actually."

She snapped her fingers and the male at her side set the laptop on the table, open and facing Ritsuka. she inserted the flash drive and let it load up.

"Half to get a sneak peak. If you're satisfied, I get the rest."

"Fine." He nodded. "Soubi?"

The blonde broke the pile of Yen in half and handed it to the Sacrifice. She counted it to make sure, tongue sticking out between her lips a little.

"Fine."

Ritsuka peeked through some files. There were photographs and some word documents. It seemed legitimate enough.

"Give her the rest, Soubi."

"Hai." He did as told, and she counted it again.

"A pleasure, Aoyagi, but I require my laptop back."

"Take it. All yours." Ritsuka took out the flash drive. "Nice to meet you, Faceless."

"It's not the last time we will see you, I'm sure. Just, next time, you won't know it's us."

He studied both faces.

"That won't help." The Fighter stated. "We're Faceless. You'll forget."

"But we won't. We can see right through you, Aoyagi, remember that the next time you dare try to hide your true face from me."

"I wouldn't dream of trying to fool you, Faceless. I'm not that stupid."

"Sometimes, I wonder."

She took the laptop and the siblings departed. Ritsuka could feel the memory of their faces slowly fading from his mind. He desperately clung to the image, but it slipped away anyway.

"Let's go back to my place so we can watch this." Soubi put a tip on the table for the waitress.

"Agreed. The sooner we find out the truth, the better."


	19. Scheduling

Dlbn: Hello, everyone! Sorry for missing last week's updates. I just wasn't feeling it.

Nbld: That and I had to go over the facts of the case again with myself to make sure I wasn't screwing anything up. Its complicated, even for my brain.

Dlbn: Next weekend is my last weekend at my weekend job, then I'm only working for the parts store full time. Woot. Side note, I got to use Ritsuka's "oh the phone died" excuse earlier and it was fantastic. A reference to my fanfic without actually saying it was from it. Yay, I love those!

Nbld: Moving on, though. Review Corner! Thank you to promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Cake for you both!

Promocat: It probably would. But it would be cool to be able to do whatever you want and get away with it because no one would recognize you later on.

The DarkCat: Thanks! Taking another break helped, since the writing bug bit me and I got a lot more done for this fic. Phew. Honestly, I only remember Hatsuko Shigemori by full name, but I forget which one that is ^^" the girl, I think? The fanfic app never worked well for me for some reason, but I'll keep your suggestions in mind in case the google docs way doesn't work. I used it to quit my job, so I think I got the hang of it now ^^"

Disclaimer: I own everything non canon. Everyone and everything canon to Loveless belong to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off of writing this.

000

The information he got from Faceless was spotty at best. They already knew Flightless was considered deceased by Septimal Moon and Seven Voices, so the supporting documents concerning that didn't matter to him, really. The photographs of Flightless that Faceless provided didn't sync up with the ones that Ritsuka and Soubi were given from thirty years prior. It only confirmed what Ritsuka already knew; this new Unit could _not_ have been Flightless. He still had no idea who this new unit was, though, and it was driving him up a metaphorical wall. Soubi didn't recognize them, either, and he was pretty sure Zero and Moonless wouldn't have a clue either. It felt like he was just chasing his tail, really. He groaned in frustration as he looked over his notes on the case so far and tapped his pen against his notebook. It was well past his bedtime, but he couldn't go to sleep with the questions dancing around in his mind. His mother wouldn't be home for another hour or two, and unless she hadn't gone out drinking with friends like she had claimed when she left, she wouldn't notice he was up. In the least, she just wouldn't care. In a way, he was lucky. No one cared what he did, so he could do what he wanted. It sounded bad out of context, but it really helped his work.

He picked his phone up almost robotically and hit the answer button. "Aoyagi?" He greeted.

"How did the meeting go?" Ritsu's voice greeted.

Ritsuka almost groaned. "Fine...as I suspected, the people we are looking for are not Flightless."

"We figured as much…"

"Yeah…"

He was like a damn parrot, repeating things Ritsuka already said. Sheesh.

"Did they give you anything that hasn't been discussed already?"

"Did you call about anything that I haven't _said_ already?" Ritsuka rolled his eyes, picking at his nails. "I have nothing to go on. What I was told by Shameless wasn't much, but it gives me a physical description, if nothing else."

"We need more."

"Then dig more up," Ritsuka snorted. "Whoever they are, I doubt they're done here. They have to have something to do with Tamed or at least be important enough to our world to even _know_ about the real Flightless."

"Hm." Ritsu nodded. "Or someone just got lucky…"

"The only hackers that would dare take on Septimal Moon are Faceless and Akame." Ritsuka stated.

"Faceless has been known to take information from one client and give it to another one." Ritsu informed. "It wouldn't surprise me if they did some extra work, so to speak. Assisting you is just a bi-product; a way to make a quick extra buck."

"I suppose. They never did make it clear who's side they're on."

"Whoever has the money at the moment."

"Yes…" Ritsuka paused, tapping his chin with his free hand. "But whoever they are, surely they had to have known that Septimal Moon was aware of Flightless' existence and consequent death and retirement? After all, they were Septimal Moon's murderers when you were my age…"

"I suppose…?"

"After all, Nagisa said all mention of them was permanently deleted from record…"

"I suppose a good hacker can somehow retrieve the files…"

"Not without being in the system long enough to be caught snooping around." Ritsuka argued. "I hate to say it, Ritsu, but it almost appears as though we are going to have to start suspecting our friends…"

"That kind of thinking will get you killed, Ritsuka." Ritsu's voice was surprisingly soft, gentle. "They'd never betray us, betray me. Betray everything we stood for and all we lost and fought for when we worked to take down my father's bastard organization."

"Because you all made the collective decision to kill together."

"We were Executioners before the Executioners were the Executioners."

"That entire sentence confused me…"

"Not the point." Ritsu scolded. "We need to locate the _real_ Tamed Sacrifice; and fast. Who knows how long she's got, how long they'll keep her wherever they have her."

"What if they don't have her?"

"What are you saying?"

"Could she have...voluntarily…?" Ritsuka shook his head. "I can't imagine a Sacrifice abandoning their Fighter like that…"

"Your brother did."

"Soubi's still standing, is he not?"

"Yes, but…"

"To have your own Fighter killed…"

"Perhaps the goal wasn't murder, but separation." Ritsu offered. "But _someone_ , the false Flightless, took things a little too far? We don't know what the Fighter knew, and we'll never know now. He's as silent as the grave he's going to be buried in."

"Why would she want out? From what I was told, they were close?"

"They can fool the world; just like the rest of us have by pretending to be _normal_." Ritsu snorted. "I suggested revisiting with Hostile before, but now I'll make it an order in case you aren't thinking of going to her on your own."

Ritsuka fired up his computer. "That was my next step, actually."

"You're so full of shit, Aoyagi…"

Ritsuka chuckled. "Ah, at least you haven't gone completely senile in your old age."

"Watch it, brat. I control your paycheck."

"You act as though money is important to me?" Ritsuka chuckled. "I thought you knew me a little better than that, Minami."

"Aren't you and Soubi-kun saving to get your own place so he doesn't have to mooch off me anymore once you turn eighteen?" Ritsu wondered. "I'm pretty sure you need money for that."

"Soubi can take care of me if he has to." Ritsuka informed. "If you're going to take pot shots, Ritsu, at least find ones that I can't counter. It's no fun when it's this easy."

"Nothing in life is going to be easy, Aoyagi, so you better enjoy the few easy things you get in life."

"I suppose." He opened up Steam and turned on the Wisdom Resurrection application. "I'm going to contact Hostile now, arrange another meeting."

"See to it that you do. Report your findings as soon as you can."

"I shall." Ritsuka nodded, though he knew the sensei couldn't see him do so. "Oyasumi, Ritsu-sensei. I believe my mother has returned."

"Oyasumi. And good luck."

They hung up just as four new messages appeared in Ritsuka's chat log in game. One was from Yayoi asking about homework and a map of Area 2, another from Yoji asking about a rare in game item that Ritsuka didn't have, one was from Seven asking if he'd checked out the new DLC yet, and the final one was from a non-friend sender. He opened that one.

 _I've thought hard about what you said earlier, Aoyagi. Iza and I both have. Sorry to message you on here. I wasn't certain I'd find you, but I thought I'd remembered seeing your name on here. Anyway, I have to talk to you about this_ Flightless _team. Iza can't know. This is between you and me. Bring your Fighter, if you must, but I won't be bringing my Sacrifice._

 _Utena, Shameless_

Well _that_ was something he hadn't been expecting. He quickly sent a reply message to meet the following Friday night in the same place as last time. Once it sent, he opened up the chat window and found that Hostile, who he'd added on as a friend a couple hours after meeting with her in person, was online. He clicked the _meet up_ icon near her name and clicked it. He was instantly teleported in game to the level she was on. He recognized the gardens from his meetings with Seven in his early days of being part of the spell world.

"What brings you here?" Hostile's voice spoke through the speaker. "Could it be that you're looking for me, Loveless?"

"That would be correct…" Ritsuka replied with his own headset.

"No need to be so formal; we're basically friends here." She chuckled. "What is it?"

"Can we set up another meeting? IRL, please?"

"IRL?" She parroted, and he found it wasn't as annoying as when Ritsu did it. "May I ask the nature of this meeting?"

"Nothing I'm comfortable discussing on here. I need more information regarding your son and his Sacrifice."

"Well, that was candid." She informed. "I suppose. What's the best for you?"

"Saturday night, six pm. Unless you prefer to meet with Soubi and I during the day."

"No, night time is better. Less chance at being seen. I don't want to become a target, and I doubt you want to be one either."

"I would like to avoid that scenario, yes." Ritsuka confirmed. "Same location?"

"Call my phone and I'll give you my address. We can meet at my home. My husband is still out on business."

"I see." Ritsuka responded. "Thank you, I shall give you a call this evening."

"Appreciated. Now...would you be up for questing…?"


	20. Confessions of A Scared Fighter

Dlbn: Hello, everyone! Welcome to a special chapter!

Nbld: That's right! Its my last day at my security weekend job! So this is the last chapter I will post from this location.

Dlbn: It's been a long five years, and I'm going to miss a lot of people, but it has to be done.

Nbld: And to keep you from waiting five years for us to shut up, let's hop to the Review Corner! Thank you to promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Celebratory cake for you both!

Promocat: Key word there is "almost" ;) yup, Septimal Moon and the academy suck the normal right out of you XD

The DarkCat: Thank you! I think its more nostalgia, but in a couple of my other fics, he has a bit of sympathy for people who lost their other half in the fight but doesn't let it get them down, like Kunugi-though his Fighter isn't dead-but he has no sympathy for people who let it break them like Ritsuka's father. Definitely a few Careless references scattered throughout this fic. That's one of my favorite lines. Makes me giggle every time.

000

Ritsuka and Soubi met up with Utena, alone, in the same clearing as before. She was playing with the hem of her shirt, looking nervous as she sat on top of a picnic bench. It was eerily quiet for a park, but considering the time, the younger Aoyagi brother wasn't particularly surprised by that fact.

"Shameless?" Ritsuka greeted softly, since the Fighter looked ready to flee at the slightest noise.

"Oh, you're here." She replied, looking up. "I'm sorry to bother you on Wisdom, but…"

"It's fine." Ritsuka replied, waving her off. "What's going on?"

"I want to help…" She paused. "I'm sorry I led you in circles like that...I was just so worried...I guess I'm just over protective…"

"If someone threatened Ritsuka like that, I'd lie to protect him too." Soubi informed to reassure her. "After I rip their tongue out through their teeth."

"Gross, Soubi. You're not my brother's Fighter anymore; don't be violent." Ritsuka scolded.

"Hai, gomen, gomen."

"Don't be violent…" Utena mused. "Funny to hear coming from an Executioner…"

"Yeah, I'm a pacifist, and it's hilarious." Ritsuka rolled his eyes. "You're not the first one to think that, and you won't be the last. Now, what did you want to speak to me about?"

"I...well…" She rang her hands between her knees. "I know you don't have many leads, but I never...er..."

"What?"

"My description...I know it was short. I didn't want Iza going off searching no his own; this is better left to professionals, like you two."

"Thank you…?"

"I couldn't tell their genders, but the Fighter had a deeper voice, so I'm guessing its a male. The Fighter is obviously the older of the two, and it seems like the Sacrifice lets him lead her."

"They switch roles, perhaps?"

She shook her head. "Only one of them was able to toss a spell at me."

Bloodless was a team Ritsuka had once encountered who had hid their identities by swapping places as Fighter and Sacrifice. Ritsuka wasn't sure how, but it probably had something to do with the fact that Bloodless wasn't the given name of the Fighter, Yurio.

"Hm…" Ritsuka paused, tail swishing back and forth in impatience as he wracked his brain for any other questions. "Could you tell if their hair was natural or dyed?"

"Natural…? I don't know, it's hard to tell sometimes."

Soubi nodded, adjusting his glasses. "Any identifying marks? Scars, for example? Tattoos?"

"Um...oh! The Fighter! He had a red rose tattooed on his right inner wrist. No stems, just the red flower part. You can clearly see his name, so it was done around his name." She informed. "Sacrifice had a bit of a cut over the right eye, through the eyebrow."

Ritsuka pulled a small notepad from his pocket and wrote down what she told him. The more new information he got, the better.

"Piercings?"

"None that I saw, but that doesn't mean all that much."

Soubi chuckled. "I know."

Ritsuka gave him a sideways look before shaking his head and smirking. "You said they wore baggy clothes when they saw you?"

"Yeah." She shrugged. "Neutral colors, so I can't even get anything for gender off that."

"If one of them was able to play Akito as well as they did to fool us, then one of them is either female or a very good actor."

"Crossdresser, perhaps." Soubi shrugged one shoulder. "Could even be transgender."

He hated making comparisons but, once again, just like Yurio of Bloodless, though he wasn't a hundred percent certain whether Yurio identified as the former or the latter. Ritsuka wouldn't have known had Yuiko not referred to Yurio as her older cousin and used male pronouns. The fact that Ritsuka was so close to someone that worked so well for Seimei was laughable. From what he had discussed with Yurio after the encounter, she was a bit miffed that Ritsuka was close to her cousin, but didn't want her involved in the spell world and agreed to be amicable around her, if no one else.

"You said they called themselves Flightless. Did they show you their name?"

"As I said before, inner wrist." She said.

Ritsuka nodded, scribbling that down and looking to Soubi. "Anything else I need to know that you can think of?"

"Where were you approached? It had to have been before we met in Yokohama."

"It was." She nodded. "I was working late, and Iza was home with his wife…" She paused. "I forget the name of the street, but it was close to my halfway house…"

"You're living in a shelter? I believe I remember you saying that last time we spoke."

"Yeah, ever since I graduated from the Academy. My family wanted nothing to do with me long before I went there, so they were happy to dump me at that school and not look back once. I don't have means of contacting anyone, so I just moved to a halfway house as close to Iza and his family as I could get without being a creepy stalker."

"Its natural to want to be close to your Sacrifice to protect them." Soubi informed.

" _Yes_ , but as you can imagine, we're the only ones aware of our statuses. His family is entirely civilian."

"Is yours?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I think I used word spell when I was a kid, before I knew what it was, and that's why they don't want me around, tbu I could be wrong. I'm not sure why they ran out on me."

"Are you an only child?"

"No, my father was married before and they had a son. We got along, so it's not like he pushed to get rid of me or anything." She shrugged.

"While we are investigating this, since they know you and probably where you are staying, you're not exactly safe." RItsuka steered the conversation in a completely different direction. "You can't go back to that shelter."

"And where am I supposed to go?" She gawked. "I have a bit of funds that they take from my check to force me to save money, but it's not enough for a place to stay; even if it's just temporary."

"And moving in with your Sacrifice and his family is out of the question, if I recall?"

"Yumiko absolutely hates me." She shook her head. "Iza tried the whole _she was being chased_ thing because he thought she'd be sympathetic. She was, until he left the room. Said I was faking it to get sympathy from him. I ran out in the middle of the night. I didn't even tell him; I just left. We haven't spoken since…"

"Your choice or his?"

"He's tried using our bond, calling my cell...I'm too embarrassed, so I just ignore him."

"As tempting as it is, you're not going to be able to forever." Soubi informed. "You're bonded. Eventually you'll feel compelled to seek him out yourself or answer his calls."

"I know." She blushed. "But until I can come up with a good reason...I know he said he'd leave her if she tried to make him ditch me, but I don't want to be a homewrecker…"

"I'm pretty certain that, in that case, she'd be the one wrecking her own home." Soubi pointed out.

"I guess…"

"Is there anyone you can stay with?"

"No. Akito would have let me stay if I really _had_ to, but…"

"No one knows where she is either."

Utena nodded. "I just hope she's okay, and my paranoia for Iza didn't get her killed in the process…"

"She probably just figured she was next and ran off." Soubi informed. "Typically, when one part of a Unit is killed, it's because someone has a grudge against the entire unit; not just the one person. The other half almost always runs, which makes these kinds of investigations that much harder."

"Not only are we looking for the killers of Kaji, but we're looking for his missing Sacrifice, too." Ritsuka informed, tapping his chin in thought. "You said a hotel or your own place is out of the question."

She nodded. "Yeah…"

 _Can we let her stay with you until I get Ritsu to put her up somewhere?_ He asked Soubi through their bond. _I don't feel comfortable sending her home alone at this point_.

 _If that's what you want, Ritsuka_. He replied. _SHould you call Minami, or should I?_

 _We'll bring her to get her stuff and discuss that after we're safe in your place. Don't know who would be listening…_

 _Point._

"Loveless…?" Utena asked,waving her hand in front of Ritsuka's face. " _Loveless_!"

"Huh?" He snapped from the bond. "Oh, sorry." He cleared his throat. "We'll take you to get your stuff. You're going to stay at Soubi's until we get this settled."

"O-Oh! Are you sure…? I don't want to get in the way…"

"We'd rather have you safe than sorry." Ritsuka informed. "Come on." He held out a hand. "Executioners don't make these offers often…"

She smiled gently and took it. "Th-Thank you, Loveless...you're very kind…"

He shrugged. "I just don't want any more preventable casualties."


	21. Forwards and Backwards

Dlbn: Greetings, everyone! Welcome to the first update of March!

Nbld: I know I missed last weekend, but I had the flu and wasn't about to do anything, let alone update fanfics. I haven't touched my computer in like a week.

Dlbn: I've been working and doing stuff I have to do, at least,so I found some time to update mid week. There's a con this weekend I'm going to, so I don't think I'm going to be able to update between now and Sunday. I might cosplay Ritsuka,Soubi, and/or Yoji for the con alongside my other WIP cosplay (Bum from Killing Stalking)

Nbld: So let's hop into the Review Corner! Thank you to Sumeri and The DarkCat for reviewing! Pocky and Ramune for you both!

Sumeri: Thanks for reviewing! And welcome :) I noticed that most of the Loveless section on fanfic is...well...me and two other people that I know personally, with a couple one shots here and there by other people. I've wanted to get this story rolling for a while, and I'm glad I've been able to do so. Enjoy!

The DarkCat: I honestly get confused and forget who they are, myself. Kind of sad XD In a way, they're like Faceless; able to camouflage themselves so no one knows their real identity. They're not Faceless, though.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and various OC units. Everything canon belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off writing this fic.

000

Ritsuka stood with Soubi outside the halfway house Utena lived in as she gathered her things she'd need at his place. The person in charge of the house was very audibly complaining about her up and leaving like she was, and refusing to give her the money she needed unless she got her head out of her backside. Ritsuka had half a mind to stroll in there and take over the situation, but he knew the Fighter could handle herself. He recognized someone coming down the street with another person. The one he recognized froze when they saw the Unit.

"A-Aoyagi?" It was Iza, the Sacrifice. He raced up to them. "What's going on? Is Utena alright?"

Ritsuka could practically hear the woman with him groaning. It had to be his wife.

"She's fine, relax." Ritsuka ordered, seeing relief dance across his face. "We don't think she is safe here alone, so she's coming with us."

"What? She can handle herself. Why do you think…?"

"Iza! Our reservation!" His wife called.

"Be there in a moment, dear!" He called back to her. "What's going on, Loveless?"

"She was confronted by that mysterious unit on her way home from work. They know where she works,and possibly where she lives. We're taking precautions. She's a witness." Soubi informed.

Iza sighed in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Is _this_ why she ran out in the middle of the night? We said it was fine to stay with us."

"Oh, I assure you, it wasn't that." Ritsuka rolled his eyes. "I won't be that guy, but someone chased her away."

"I...had a feeling." He sighed. "I just can't get her to understand…"

"Civilians rarely do." Soubi confirmed. "I'm just lucky Kio has learned to accept things at face value and stop asking questions."

"Who…?"

"His only friend." Ritsuka informed, earning a protest from Soubi that he waved away. "We've got somewhere for her to stay in the interim, and we're working on finding a place to go to after that. If you want more information, use your bond. We're not sure who's watching."

He nodded. "As long as she's safe. That's all I care."

"Of course it is!" His wife rudely objected. "Would you _come on_? We're going to be late, and they'll give our reservation away!"

"I'm _coming_." He rolled his eyes. 'She won't talk to me. I was hoping she would if I ran into her around here; that's the only reason we came this way. Please, can you convince her to call me? I'm worried."

"You should be worried about our reservation!" Yumiko called.

"With all due respect madam, mind your business." Soubi informed.

She gawked.

"A-Agatsuma-san…" Iza cleared his throat and adjusted his tie. "Well...thank you for protecting her...I wish I could help more…"

"It's alright." Ritsuka shrugged. "We'll figure it out."

"Yeah…"

"Iza! Let's _go_!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Iza groaned. "Damn nag…"

Ritsuka cocked an eyebrow, but neither he nor Soubi said anything as they watched the Sacrifice leave, giving one last longing look back at the halfway house as if he was hoping his Fighter would magically appear.

"Iza was here...wasn't he?" Utena came out of the shadows by the front door as soon as Iza left. "I sensed him…"

"Yeah, he and his wife were walking by." Ritsuka replied. "I know you don't want to talk, but he looked distraught, and he's worried about you."

"I know...I'll come around to it when I feel okay. I just…"

"We understand; we won't push you." Soubi stated. "But he wishes that we would."

She giggled. "Thank you both, again, for taking care of me like this…"

"Of course." Ritsuka nodded. "Let's get going. I have curfew soon and a meeting tomorrow I need to be rested for."

The three of them walked down the cobblestone walkway of the halfway house and vanished down the streets under the watchful eye of a slowly setting sun and auburn sky.

000

Ritsuka and Soubi stood on the doorstep to the home owned by Hostile and her husband. The younger of the two gripped the metal door knocker and tapped the front door with it three times as she had instructed whens he given him the address. The door opened slightly and Hostile peeked out, closing the door quickly before unlocking a chain and yanking Ritsuka inside. Soubi followed instantly without a word, not too happy with how rough she was being with his lover.

"Sorry, I don't want to be caught having strangers in my home." She stated. "You never know how much the neighbors will gossip to my husband."

"Has it happened before?" RItsuka adjusted his now rumpled up sleeve.

"A couple times, but he always chalks it up to chatty housewives with nothing better to do."

"Lucky for you."

She nodded. "Mm." A sigh. "Come in, sit down. What did you want to discuss?"

"We've been getting some conflicting information regarding the case of your son's murder."

"What conflicting information…?"

"The young woman we encountered that was posing as your son's Sacrifice." Ritsuka informed.

"Posing?" She cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

They sat down when she did.

"The woman we spoke to was at _least_ twenty or so years old, but a classmate of mine recollects working on a school project with her in fourth grade. Meaning she can't be any older than sixteen."

"She's seventeen." Hostile responded with a nod. "Could you perhaps just be thinking she looks older than she is?"

"She's gone missing." Ritsuka replied. "I can't figure out where she got off to. We searched her home, and its been wiped clean of everything."

"That's unusual…" Hostile paused. "She _was_ spooked by my son's death. Like I said, she kept apologizing and wishing she could have stopped it. Useless brat."

"Do you think she just ran?"

"It's possible, but to wipe her own home clean of any evidence that she was ever there? That doesn't make sense. Who cares if there's proof she was there? She _lives_ there."

"With family?"

"Yeah, her parents. The father's a Fighter. I'm not too fond of him, myself. Always looking at my son like he's going to do something inappropriate to his precious little tool." She rolled her eyes. "

"She was the only one present when we went to the home." Ritsuka stated. "Said her family didn't care what happened to her."

"Bullshit!" Hostile laughed loudly, laying her head back on the couch. "Her father was practically up her ass. Her mother was a little aloof, but she was a homemaker. She stayed home all day, every day, taking care of that kid from the moment she was born. They weren't as close as Kaji and I are...were...but it was close. The mom's a civilian, so she didn't understand my son's position with her daughter. Since he's a sensei, they passed it off that he was tutoring her. Mother was none the wiser but the father knew."

"Fighters can be protective of their territory, including their Sacrifices and family members."

"Someone should give Akame a lesson or two in that last area. His entire family hates him." Soubi snorted.

"And from what I know, the feeling's mutual." Ritsuka chuckled.

"Hence someone giving him lessons."

"I see." Hostile paused. "Your brother's Fighter, right?"

"That's correct."

"Your brother...wasn't involved with any of this…?"

"Nothing about it screams Aoyagi Seimei, but he's concerned with its proximity to me. Both your son's murder and the double murder of Victorious may be connected to my school somehow, since the bodies were found there."

"You don't think it was the murder sight, do you?"

"Your son was restrained for a long time." Soubi informed. "It would be impossible for him to have been held captive and killed at the school. Someone would have found him before he died."

"Logical." Hostile tapped her chin. "I'm afraid I can't help much more than I already have. Not because I don't want to, but because I simply don't know anything more. It's hurting my head to think about this case any longer on my own. I try to push it from my mind unless necessary, like when you contacted me earlier."

"I know it's not easy. I experienced the same thing when we thought that Seimei had been murdered." Ritsuka informed. "Thank you for all the help you've been able to provide us with."

She nodded. "Did you get anything from the Victorious slayings?"

"The person who killed them is likely the one that killed your son. Same methodology, same restraint tactics."

She shuddered. "So there's a chance this is just some random psycho in our world that has managed to slip through Septimal Moon's cracks."

"Can you think of any reason Akito may want to run from her Fighter?" RItsuka asked.

"Pardon?"

"Someone suggested to me that perhaps this was meant to just be a separation, but someone took it too far."

"Doubt it. But if that was the case, then Victorious probably wouldn't have died. I don't even recognize that name, and I doubt they have anything to do with my son." Hostile sighed. "Perhaps someone has a grudge...as I said, I think this is all either connected to you or your school, not the victims themselves."

"Find a connection between the victims, find the killers." Soubi stated. "It's a tactic, but we don't have a connection as of yet."

"I'll have Seven dig up some dirt for me." Ritsuka typed on his phone as he spoke. "If anyone can track the connection of Units, its her."

Hostile nodded. "If I can be of any further assistance, or you discover anything, please let me know. This investigation has gone on long enough. I'm starting to doubt your ability, Loveless."

He glared. "I know it's hard because of your name, but don't get standoffish with me, Hostile. I won't put up with it."

"Sorry, sorry. Thanks for understanding." She sighed. "My kids should be coming home soon. Do you mind cutting this conversation short, since it's just dwindled to speculation now?"

"Yeah, we'll get going...one more thing."

"Hai?"

"Do you have any idea where she could have gone off to?"

"If her parents are gone as well, I'm pretty certain they're together. I'm not too worried." Hostile waved him off. "If her father knows about the murder like the rest of Japan, he probably took her somewhere safe."

"I see." Ritsuka nodded, standing. "Well, thanks for your help."

"Of course."

She led them outside, locking the door behind her. When Soubi started driving away, Ritsuka noticed a group of young kids running down the street, splitting into different homes. Four went to Hostile's home.

"Just in time." Soubi chuckled.

"Mhm." Ritsuka looked out the window.

"Something bothering you, kitten?"

"She's probably right, that Akito is in hiding with her family." Ritsuka replied. "But a connection between Tamed and Victorious? I don't see it."

"Have Seven look into it, like you said you would."

"Yeah." Ritsuka dialed the bluenette's number.

"Seven Voices Security." She greeted.

"It's Loveless." He replied.

"Oh? What are you calling me for?"

"I need you to look into something for me. You have access to all of Septimal Moon's vital records, no?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"I need to look into a possible connection between either member of Tamed and either member of Victorious, the other victims." Ritsuka informed. "I think we may be missing something. Hostile suggested everything might be connected before, but she's not the only one to have had that train of thought."

"It wouldn't surprise me. Choosing victims at random doesn't fit a serial killer; they normally have a type, I do believe."

"Yeah, for the most part. Let me know what you found. We're going to keep looking for the real Akito."

"I'll run a search across a few external databases and see if her last name appears anywhere."

"Please do." Ritsuka replied. "Hostile said her father is a Fighter, but I don't have a name."

"Ritsu could help with that. He's pretty good with family connections and all that."

"Fantastic."

She laughed. "I know, you don't want to speak with him if you can help it. But try it this one time for me. One less thing for me to do here."

"Yeah, I'll try. Arigato."

"You're welcome." She responded, hanging up before he could speak again.

"She's going to database search Akito's last name for any recent history and look into a possible connection between the victims."

Soubi nodded. "And where does that leave us?"

"Three steps forward, seven steps back."


	22. The Search Begins

Dlbn: Hello everyone! Sorry for the long break, I just ran out of inspiration for this fic and somehow got it back.

Nbld: Also started working on a fic for my best friend Kim. She had her daughter Tuesday at 3:30ish. Happy birthday Reina Rose! Let's get to the review corner! Thank you to Promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Candy for you all!

Promocat: Twists and turns everywhere. He's got to be sick of it by now XD

The DarkCat: Thanks! They're hunting for Akito now. That's just Hostile's nature, honestly, but she's not a fan of Akito or her father for various reasons. Her description is in here, actually ^

Disclaimer: I own Akito, her father, and various OCs that show up. Ritsuka, Soubi, and anything canon to Loveless belong to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off this.

Dedication One: Dedicated to my friend Kim and her husband Ryan on the birth of their baby girl! Finally, one of my close friends has a girl. Happy birthday Reina Rose!

Dedication Two: I just found out that Loveless volume 13 comes out on June 14th, the day after my son's birthday. You bet your ass I ordered it. Finally!

000

When Ritsuka got a phone call in the middle of class the next day, he was mortified that his ringer wasn't off. He blushed a deep red as he silenced the call, noting that it was the security office at Seven Voices, meaning that Nana was getting back to him finally.

"G-Gomennasai…" He apologized.

Class went on as usual but when the bell rang at the end of the period, he ripped out his cell phone and called back as he left the classroom with everyone else.

"Nana…I was in class…" He complained when she answered.

"Ah, gomen, I forget you're a student sometimes." She laughed. "Anyway, I got a few hits for you that I thought you might be interested in ASAP."

"Can you just email or text me them, then? I only have so long between classes and you know I refuse to skip."

"Ah, yes, I know. I'll be brief."

"Alright, what is it?" He set down his bag and spun his locker combination.

"Well there's been a series of purchases recently on a credit card owned by her father." Nana informed. "They've spanned the main lands, but the most extravagant one was in Yokohama a day after her Fighter went missing."

"Oh?"

"Seems the person holding the card booked a two week stay at a resort, and also rented a car. I don't have what kind of vehicle yet, but I can get that later." Nana informed. "A few more purchases were made in Yokohama, but they were only there three days before another hotel was booked in Kyoto. No rent a car this time. There's another hotel purchase in Osaka four days after that, and one more in Iwaki two days ago."

"So that's likely where they are."

"Whoever has the card, they're only staying for part of the stay they've booked at each hotel." Nana said. "They stopped renting a car after the first incident, so they probably use public transit, unless someone is chauffeuring them around."

"Nothing else on the car for vehicle rentals? Even a taxi?"

"Not even Uber or Lyft." Nana denied. "A withdrawal of four hundred was removed from the father's checking account when they were in Kyoto."

"So money is being moved, as are people. But we don't know if the father has the card, Akito, or god knows who else."

"I gave up on God a long time ago, Ritsuka-kun." She admitted with a sigh. "I'll keep digging and see if I can find surveillance footage of Akito or her parents. Either the ATM or the hotel would have something if there's anything to find."

"See to it that you do. Call me _after school_ and let me know what you found, even if it's nothing. I'd rather know there's nothing than chase my tail like a dog."

Nana chuckled as he entered his classroom. "Sure thing, Aoyagi. Later."

"Later." He hung up and took his seat.

His English teacher stared at him like he had three heads. "You're using your phone at school, Aoyagi-kun?" She asked. "That's unusual. Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yes, of course. My cousin forgot something at my house the other day and thought she'd call about it."

"Oh, I see." She smiled gently. "Just be careful. I wouldn't want it to get confiscated."

"Thanks, I will be."

She nodded, going back to the book she was reading. Ritsuka tapped his fingers on the desk. They had four options, and none of them were very helpful. One, it was a random stranger that got the credit card and moved around when they felt close to getting caught. That was the worst of the four. The second, it was her father on his own, running from something. If he could get to the father, he could possibly persuade him into helping find Akito. The third being Akito with her father, which made it harder for Ritsuka to speak to her alone. Unless her father was one of them and understood everything, he was certain the elder male wouldn't be happy with some random kid looking for his daughter, claiming to be a friend that she denied ever seeing before. The final one was the best option of the four, but he wasn't certain on it; Akito traveling on her own. That would mean that something likely happened to her family, or she was afraid that something would and was thus off on her own. While it made it easier to confront her, it made her possibly afraid of anyone that came for her. He groaned, running a hand through his hair as he slumped down in his seat. His mind barely registered the bell ringing, or himself greeting his sensei along with the rest of the class in English. This case was taking over his mind whether or not he wanted to admit it, but it wasn't like he could take a break. The future of Tamed and the justice for the killers couldn't wait forever.

000

The call he got from Nana at the end of the school day was troubling, to say the least. Akito was seen on surveillance at the hotel room with an older man, and the same man was spotted at the ATM on his own. Ritsuka had a feeling it was her father, but he didn't want to jump the gun and rush to conclusions. That was how he found himself after school Saturday going to Iwaki in Kio's car with Soubi. The greenette was on vacation with his fiancé and his family, so they didn't have to worry about him needing the car. Kio hadn't minded when Soubi had asked to borrow it for the trip, only promising to kill him if anything happened to the car or he returned it with less gas than he left with. Soubi quieted him with a promise and a photo of the gas tank and odometer so he'd know what was left in it before he left versus when he got it back. Thankfully, Ritsuka didn't have school on Sundays, so he wasn't missing anything for school. The festival was the following weekend, so that was the only time he'd be stuck being busy and not able to travel. He and Soubi sat in the car outside of the hotel that the credit card was last used in, waiting for any sign of Akito or the man with her. Ritsuka nudged Soubi with his elbow when he started to nod off.

"This is surveillance, Soubi. We don't have time to just sleep." He scolded.

"Gomen, I'm just so bored…"

"Don't you turn into Zero on me, now."

Soubi chuckled. "If I ever did, we'd be in trouble."

"Yeah, that's one way to put it." Ritsuka snorted. "The world can only handle two Zero at a time."

"Four if you count the females."

Yamato and Koya were the first set of Zero made by Nagisa, though they were born normal students and just abandoned to the school by their parents. The story was rather tragic, ending in and Yamato's name disappearing and retreat from their battle with him. Last he'd heard, they were making a nice, honest life for themselves out from under Nagisa's thumb and the laws governing Units. He and Soubi were invited to the wedding in a few months.

"I don't; not anymore. No name."

Soubi nodded. "Then three, since the Fighter still has her name, I believe."

"I wouldn't know."

Female Zero had their name on their breast. Obviously, not something he was interested in.

"Hey." Soubi nodded out the window.

Ritsuka turned quickly. A young girl with a hood up covering her head was walking out of the hotel alone, wearing sunglasses to cover her eyes and seeming to be looking around to make sure she was alone. Ritsuka couldn't sense an aura of a Sacrifice about her, but there was something in her paranoia that was unsettling to him.

"I can't tell who she is." He complained.

Soubi held up a file folder. "It matches the description that Nana gave us."

She had called and informed them of what Suka Akito looked like in her school file; neko ears, fuchsia hair, green eyes, and a mole under her right eye. Ritsuka couldn't see that close, but Nana had sent a photo from the surveillance footage and, although it was greyscale, the girl looked similar in features. He nodded.

"I guess we'll make a move."

They exited the vehicle, taking pursuit after Soubi locked the car. They kept enough of a distance to look like they weren't following the girl, but close enough that they wouldn't lose sight of her.

She led them through the city, almost giving them the slip a few times. He had a feeling she knew she was being followed, and that feeling was mostly confirmed when she headed straight into a dead-end alley. Ritsuka and Soubi paused as the blonde searched the air for any battle signatures that would tell him it was a trap. He nodded once he was sure it was alright. They stepped into the alley together, Soubi behind Ritsuka like a bodyguard. The girl in question was standing facing the wall on the other side of the alley.

"Are you here to kill me, too…?" She wondered softly. "I thought I was hidden enough…"

"We're not here to kill you." Ritsuka greeted.

She turned quickly, staring at him with wide green eyes. "You…who are you…?" She wondered.

"Aoyagi Ritsuka, Septimal Moon seat six, and Executioner." He greeted.

Her ears twitched under her hood. "Then…you're here to test Kaji and me…? I hate to inform you, but…he's deceased…"

"We know." Soubi confirmed.

"We're investigating the murder." Ritsuka informed. "You're hard to track down, Suka Akito…"

She flushed. "G-Gomen!" She bowed quickly. "Had I known you were looking for me, I would have found you sooner!"

"It's alright." Soubi told her. "We found you, after all."

"Twice." Ritsuka corrected.

"Twice…?" She asked.

He held out a hand to her. "We met someone who was pretending to be you…I think you and I need to exchange some words, if you don't mind?"

She paused for a moment, before gingerly taking a step forward. "H-Hai…that's alright…my father will worry if he sees you both, so please, just wait in the hallway for me…?"

"So you _are_ with your father." Ritsuka nodded. "May I ask? Is he…?"

"Like us? Yeah, he's a Sacrifice." She replied. "Mom's his Fighter, but she died when I was ten…"

"Gomen." Ritsuka offered.

She nodded, as if she was used to people saying that to her. By now, she probably was.

"Mom could have easily protected me if she was alive still. But two Sacrifices trying to fight off a whole Unit? We wouldn't stand a chance. Hiding was his idea…he didn't want me hurt." She shrugged. "But if you're here, I feel a lot safer."

Soubi and Ritsuka let her exit the alley and lead them back to her hotel, Ritsuka at her side and Soubi behind them.

"You feel safer because of us?" Ritsuka wondered. "That's a first. Most people run the opposite way when approached by an Executioner."

"Or seize up in fear." Soubi added.

Ritsuka chuckled.

"Well, considering that my father and I are both Sacrifices who can't _do_ anything, having both a Fighter and a Sacrifice that _can_ use a few spells is comforting, in the least." She smiled gently, pushing open the door to the hotel lobby. "You're famous, you know, Loveless."

"As I've heard a handful of times." Ritsuka shrugged it off.

Fame didn't really appeal to him, nor did the fear that his name and title both struck into people, but it came with the territory and was a part of his life he'd have to get used to, unfortunately.

"I'll be right back." She informed, sliding her keycard into the keyhole for the hotel door. "Give me a few minutes."

The door shut, but Ritsuka could faintly hear talking through the walls. Her father didn't seem very happy that she brought people over, but Ritsuka heard his voice soften when she uttered his title. The door opened shortly after. A green-eyed male with red-orange hair opened the hotel room door and waved them in.

"Please, quickly." He told them.

Ritsuka and Soubi shared a look before following him in. The hotel room was small, with a separate room for the bathroom and another for the kitchen. It wasn't anything overly fancy, but it was enough to keep the duo close together. The tension in the room felt like static electricity, and Ritsuka was certain it was partially just the father trying to show his stronger aura and protect his daughter. The humor was lost on the Loveless sacrifice, but he supposed it was just amusing.

"Pardon the urgency, but we _are_ in hiding here." The father informed.

"I understand." Ritsuka informed. "Pardon for intruding, but the matter is growing more and more urgent."

"This is about Kaji, isn't it?" The father sighed. "I still can't believe he's gone. He was a nice boy…"

"Young man, dad." Akito corrected. "Kaji was older than me, remember?"

"Hai, hai." He sighed. "I doubt there's anything we can help you with, Aoyagi-sensei, but…"

"You're in hiding for a reason." Ritsuka interrupted.

"Naturally, if my daughter's Fighter was killed, the fear for her being the next target…"

"I understand, believe me." Ritsuka responded. "Have either of you ever made contact with a Unit called Flightless?"

Akito paled, but her father didn't seem affected, or to notice his daughter's reaction to the name. Ritsuka felt his bond with Soubi shimmer as the blonde tried to drag his attention to it, though the attempts came a bit too late.

"I haven't heard that name in years." Her father sighed. "I thought they were deceased?"

"You know the name?" Soubi wondered, cocking an eyebrow.

"They worked for the old Septimal Moon, before the current one took over."

"You remember that time period?"

He nodded. "I was a teenager back then. I know that I'm dating myself here, but…"

"Not important." Ritsuka nudged Soubi playfully. "You haven't had any recent contact?"

"Of course not. They're deceased, aren't they?"

"Dead?" Akito wondered. "How are they dead…?"

"Do you know something?" Her father turned to her.

"Well…er…Kaji and I…we ran into them once…" Akito swallowed hard. "They claimed to be working for Septimal Moon to find rogue Units and had just innocently come across us, but Kaji didn't trust them…"

"Do you recall what they looked like when you saw them?" Ritsuka asked, holding out his hand for Soubi to drop a small notebook into his palm.

"Um…yes…both had black hair, no ears…green eyes for the Fighter and honey for the Sacrifice…"

"That…matches descriptions…"

"Unless they decided to start using wigs and contacts to hide their true identities, that's not accurate. The Sacrifice is pale with red hair and pink eyes. I'd call her albino if I didn't know any better. The Fighter has blue hair and orange eyes." Her father interjected. "I don't know who you talked to, but…"

"I met you before." Ritsuka told Akito. "When I went to your house following Kaji's murder for my initial interview. In which I was told by you, a woman of at least nineteen years of age, that neither of you had any family close by, so you wished to know when you would have access to the body to give a proper funeral."

"I'm sorry…?" Her father wondered. "I don't…"

"Someone is…pretending to be me…?" Akito wondered, clutching a fist to her chest. "That's…I swear, I've never seen you before! I mean, I know _of_ you, being an Executioner and seat holder, but this is the first interaction we've ever had! I swear, I…!"

"No, no, I'm aware." Ritsuka informed her, hand up to silence her. "I believe that the Suka Akito we confronted at your apartment was in fact one of the members of this Unit masquerading as Flightless."

"The Fighter, if they copied Flightless completely." Her father stated.

He nodded. "When we went back…your home has been wiped clean." Ritsuka informed. "I had Sweepers go through the place, top to bottom. There was no sign of anyone being there."

"We did what we could to wipe the house of anything to identify us." Her father admitted, blushing. "I wouldn't be surprised if the people that took residence there decided to restore it to what we left, so we'd be none the wiser when we got home…"

"A valid deduction." Soubi nodded.

"So it would seem." Ritsuka replied. "Is there anything about Flightless you can remember, Akito?"

She shook her head. "They just looked like carbon cut Japanese citizens." She replied. "They were on foot, so I can't give you a plate number, but I heard a car take off when they left us so…"

Ritsuka nodded, tapping his pen on his chin in thought. "Do you think they have any reason to harm you?"

"No, not at all…we haven't done anything wrong; against Septimal Moon, or otherwise." She replied.

"A couple other units were confronted by them as well…have you ever interacted wit a Unit named Victorious?"

"Ah, yes!" She blushed. "Haika, the Fighter? She and Kaji were…well…I _guess_ you could say they were dating…but it was more of a will they-won't they kind of thing. Nishi didn't like it much, but that's the way it goes when your other half falls for someone else…"

"You sound like you understand the sentiment…"

Her blush deepened. "I wouldn't say I _loved_ Kaji…I mean, as my Fighter, he was my best friend, and I love him as such. But to say I felt for him the way Nishi did for Haika…" She shook her head. "Are they…are they okay…?"

"They…"

"Victorious was murdered and dumped at Ritsuka's school, as well…" Soubi informed slowly.

She fell into a chair. "No…no way…" Her hands covered her mouth. "Oh God, they were so close; such a strong Unit! They're…they're gone…?"

"Please, is there any similarity between them and…?" Her father trailed, though it was obvious where his mind was headed.

"We think there is a connection there, yes." Ritsuka confirmed.

"This can't be happening…" Akito shot to her feet. "I have Unit friends in school! They could be in danger…! A-And…oh God…what did we do…?" She looked tearfully at her father. "Daddy…"

"There is no _we_ here, Akito." Ritsuka briskly walked to her side and clasped his hands on her shoulders. "Just _them_. This Unit, whoever they are, are causing more problems than _any_ of us need right now. The murder of Kaji was senseless; completely senseless. To go after someone he was close with after that…I don't know if their intent is to destroy everything connected to Kaji so the answer can't be found, but I do know that we are _not_ going to stop until we find them and take them down. I promised my classmates, fellow Units, that I would solve this and give Kaji some justice. Now I have three more reasons to do so; yourself and Victorious. None of this should have happened…how it did…" He paused.

"Don't even think it." Soubi scolded. "Whoever they are, they're good at disguising themselves as other Units. That's an extraordinary gift. Even if Septimal Moon and the Executioners tried, they'd probably be chasing their tails."

"This means that anyone on our lists, on Gomon's Executions or my tests…" Ritsuka paused. "Any of them could be this Unit in disguise starting trouble, leaving the actual Unit to take the fall…"

Reality hit him like a ton of bricks. Nagisa was right. He _was_ a target. But not just him. all the Executioners. A chill spread through his veins, making him shiver as he pulled from Akito and turned around.

"Soubi…someone is out to ruin us…"


	23. Meetings That Don't Quite Go Well

Dlbn: Hey everyone! Welcome to another update. I know its been a while, but I've been sick…and addicted to playing Love Nikki in my spare time instead of writing. Oops.

Nbld: Also more hours at work and tending to my little man growing up too fast T_T

Dlbn: Are you getting sentimental?

Nbld: Shut your face. Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Candy for you!

Promocat: All the pieces are finally lining up.

The DarkCat: Welcome! I didn't give much thought to it, but they just broke in, really. I mean, considering that they were able to not only hide their trails as well as they did, but copy Akito well, it wouldn't be too much of a surprise if they found a way to duplicate a key. But in this case, no, they just picked the lock.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and some non canon characters. Everything canon belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off writing this.

Announcement: Loveless volume 13 hits shelves June 12th, 2018! I preordered mine already :3

000

Ritsuka couldn't get a hold of Mikado fast enough. He spent a good five minutes trying not to have a panic attack as he drummed his fingers on his knee and waited for her to pick up the damn phone.

"Loveless…?" She greeted finally. "You rarely call me…what's the…"

"I figured it out." Ritsuka informed.

The tone of his voice had her pausing for a moment. "What did you figure out…?"

"This Unit…these murderers we've been chasing…they could be anyone."

"What do you mean?"

"Whoever they are, they can fake being other Units so well that it fools everyone. If they are to fake being a Unit and cause trouble, the _real_ Unit gets subjected to our lists."

"You think they're using us to take out their opponents?"

"I think it's more than that, Moonless." He admitted. "I think they're trying to discredit us."

"What do you…?" She paused. "I see…they're making us go after innocent Units to make us look like the bad guys…but why…?"

"I don't know, but for now, we need to stay our hand. Our orders, we have to ignore them until we catch these people."

"Absolutely not. We are not cowards, Aoyagi, we will not run away…"

"We will kill innocent people. Bring our ability and power into question. Do you _really_ want another coup?"

"Well, _no_ …"

"But keeping to our orders now, especially when we know all this to be true…"

"I understand…I suppose we will need to have a meeting and a word with Ritsu…can you be here tomorrow? I know you have class, but…"

"I'm not above skipping; not for something like this." He shook his head, though he knew that she couldn't see it.

"Excellent. Be here as soon as possible."

"I shall."

"Have you made contact with Akito…?"

"Yes, her and her father are in hiding."

"Bring them with you…"

"And what of Utena? She's at Soubi's apartment."

"Bring her as well. Anyone in danger needs to get _out_ of the heat of the fire and get to safety. These walls are more secure than Fort Knox."

"I'm aware." Ritsuka agreed. "I will do what I must."

"Arigato. I'll have a limo at Agatsuma's apartment by nine. Oyasumi."

"Oyasumi." He hung up and looked to Akito and her father. "You're coming to Gora with us."

"Absolutely not! What if they…" Her father objected.

"That's not a suggestion, it's a Septimal Moon decree."

He backed down at that. "But…"

"I assure you, Seven Voices is one of the most secure buildings on the continent." Ritsuka informed. "If anyone is well equipped to protect your daughter, it's the numerous Fighters that make that place their home. Not to mention, Septimal Moon and its guards, including Soubi and I. We wouldn't be moving you if we thought you were in any danger by doing so."

"I…I suppose…" He looked down at his daughter. "What do you think…?"

"I…I trust Aoyagi." She stood slowly. "I don't want to run any more, daddy…if we stay alone, we're bound to be targeted again and…"

"I understand." He hugged her to his side. "We'll go with you."

Ritsuka snorted. The moment he made it a decree of Septimal Moon, they had no choice in the matter. "Now that that's settled, get your stuff together. We have one more to pick up before we leave."

000

There was a limo waiting outside of Soubi's apartment by the time the Unit and father-daughter duo returned to it. Hideki was standing outside, leaning on the door. He smiled gently at the group as they exited the vehicle. Soubi helped Akito and her father with their belongings in the trunk as Ritsuka spoke with Hideki.

"You beat us here." He greeted.

"We thought you would have been quicker, but considering the how much they're taking out of the vehicle, I'm guessing it wasn't easy to leave." Hideki commented, looking over Ritsuka's head that the others.

"I'll say." Ritsuka sighed, folding his arms over his chest. "Is Utena with you?"

"In her current state, I thought it best to not approach her on my own." Hideki admitted.

"Current state…?"

He nodded up the stairs. "Her Sacrifice is here."

Ritsuka groaned. "Great. Just what I need." He turned and started up the stairs, noting how Soubi followed him without a word.

The teenager knocked and opened the door. The apartment was in the same state it was left in, minus the fact that Utena and her Sacrifice weren't the only ones there. Iza's wife sat next to him, looking highly irritated as she held their baby.

"There's no reason to just run out and go hiding on me." Iza scolded his Fighter. "If we could just talk…"

"There's no talking that needs to be done, Iza." Utena glared at him. "Why can't you get it through your thick head? We're never going to get along."

"I just don't see…"

" _I_ don't see why you're so concerned about _her_ and not _us_." His wife glared at her husband as well. "You're an idiot. There's clearly something more going on here."

"Nothing is going on here. Utena and I are just friends. That's all…"

"Bullshit."

"Language, miss." Soubi scolded.

The three turned, clearly startled. Utena's skin was bright pink as she stood quickly.

"I-I'm sorry…Iza came to visit, and I didn't think there was any harm in it…" She blurted.

"How did he know you were here…?" Ritsuka wondered.

"I…um…"

"She invited him over. I followed." The wife sneered. "Who are you…?"

"Agatsuma Soubi. This is my apartment." Soubi informed.

"Aoyagi Ritsuka, not your business." Ritsuka ignored the wife in favor of the Unit. "There is a limo waiting to take us to Gora, Utena."

"Gora…?" Utena wondered. "But…why…? You found Akito, didn't you!"

"Tena…" iza scolded.

"Is she okay?"

"She's fine." Ritsuka informed. "Downstairs with her father, actually."

'Oh, thank God." Utena breathed a sigh of relief. "I-I'm sorry, Iza. I have to talk to her. You understand."

"Wait, Tena!"

She ignored him as she left. He sighed.

"That could have gone better…"

"I'm not quite certain what you were expecting out of that anyway." Soubi informed. "I could sense the tension the moment we opened the door."

"Foolish." Ritsuka sighed, shaking his head. "Why are adults so damn stupid?"

The wife stared. "Who's Akito…?"

"A friend of Utena." Iza stated. "She's been missing."

"And these two went to find who…who exactly _are_ you…?" She asked Ritsuka.

"That information is classified." Ritsuka informed. "You know enough already, regrettably…"

"I didn't know she had followed." Iza sighed.

"And I wasn't allowed to come with you because…?"

"Quite frankly, my dear, you make the situation worse." Soubi informed.

The wife turned and glared. "Ex _cuse_ me?"

"We don't have time for this. Domestic squabbles are not our problem. We're supposed to be _leaving_ …" Ritsuka complained.

"You're taking Tena to Gora with you…why…?" Iza asked.

"Who cares?" His wife snorted. "At least she won't be around to get in our way anymore…"

Iza glared. " _What_ is the problem with me having friends? She's not the first one you've tried to scare away. She's just the only one that hasn't run…"

"You and that broad are _way_ too close, Iza." His wife complained. "I'd be a fool to think there was nothing going on between the two of you."

"What do I have to do to prove to you that I'm loyal to you, hm?" Iza asked. "Just tell me, and I'll do that!"

Ritsuka was tempted to just slowly back out of the apartment and leave, but he didn't feel right leaving Iza in the dark. Not like he could say anything with the wife around. He'd have to come up with something that would soothe the angry wife while keeping their secret world safe.

"Get rid of her."

"I can't do that. That's the one thing I can never do." Iza gripped at his bond with Utena, making it look like he was gripping to his shirt so his wife wouldn't question why he was grasping so desperately at air. "You simply don't understand the bond we share…"

"Our relationship should be more important to you than a bond with some random broad."

"She's not a random broad. She's my best friend, always has been. You think tis easy to just throw away your entire life for someone, let alone someone you've been so close with for so many years? It's not. I would _never_ ask you to get rid of any of your friends. Can't you extend the same courtesy to me?"

"Not in this case, no! Anyone else I wouldn't care." She paused, looking away. "You…love her…don't you…?"

"The way a friend would love another, or siblings would love each other." Iza admitted. "Its nothing more."

"I can't believe that." His wife glared.

"If he didn't love you, miss, he would have left a long time ago." Soubi interjected. "You know that as well as any of us do, yet you hold onto this ridiculous belief that he's going to leave you for Utena." He shook his head as he went down the hall to collect Utena's things.

"Talk about blunt…" Ritsuka muttered. "He makes a valid point, miss."

She glared. "You're a child. What the hell do you know?"

"I'm a teenager, actually." His tail went rigid. "I know far more than you think I do. I was an adult long before should have been. You don't know me or the hells I have been through to get to where I am today, so kindly mind your own business in that regard." He ignored her slack jawed stare to pass attention onto the blushing and obviously embarrassed Sacrifice. "We need to get going, and she is going with us. It's not safe for her right now. Considering these people have threatened you to buy her cooperation, they know who she is and who you are. Until they are apprehended, we consider them to be hostile." He sighed. "Tying up loose ends means getting rid of anyone who's seen their faces. Believe me, my brother worked the same way when he was in my position doing his bullshit. I assure you, we will keep her and Akito safe."

"And what about me?" Iza wondered. "Aren't you concerned they could come after me in retaliation? I can't express my desire to not end up like Kaji…"

"Wait…isn't he that teacher that was killed…?" The wife's face fell. "The people who killed him might be after you…?"

"I'd extend the offer of sanctuary to you both, but considering the hostility you display towards Utena, its not in anyone's best interest to have you along." Ritsuka stated.

"And who are you to make a decision?"

"The lead investigator on this case who's done more legwork in a week than the police have managed to do since Sensei went missing." Ritsuka snapped. "Please, mind your own business; this doesn't concern you."

"My husband could be in danger because of that girl," she pointed out the door, "and I'm supposed to just be quiet and take orders from a teenager? Yeah, I don't know what world you live in, but that's not how the real world works."

"That's right…you don't know…" Iza commented. "You couldn't possibly understand what's going on…I don't know why I ever thought you could…I hear you, Aoyagi, and I agree with what you've said, but…I can't just leave my wife and daughter behind to…" He shook his head. "That being said, I can't defend myself should I be attacked."

"A decision needs to be made, but I'd hate to make you choose between your wife and your safety." Ritsuka sighed. "Give me a moment…would, you…?"

He stepped out onto the balcony, ignoring Iza's wife starting up again and Akito and Utena babbling excitedly downstairs. He pulled out his phone as he leaned on the railing and dialed.

"Minami." A voice greeted.

"Aoyagi." He replied. "I have a favor."

"Another?" Minami wondered, humor popping up in his voice. "What can I do for you…?"

"Shameless' wife has gotten her nose into places it doesn't belong."

"Executing civilians is strictly prohibited, Aoyagi." Minami stated. "I can't grant that request, you know."

"That's not why I'm calling." Ritsuka snarled. "Iza requires protection as much as his Fighter does."

"Ah, and you want to bring the woman along." He sighed. "A civilian in the school? You know that can't happen; its prohibited by school rules."

"They have a child."

Silence. "I suppose…" A sigh. "We'll wipe her memory afterwards, of course."

"I would expect nothing else, Minami." Ritsuka hung up before the sensei could object to his coworker using his last name to address him.

He went inside just as Soubi was coming out of the back rooms. The blonde smiled gently, seeming a little confused as to what Ritsuka was doing out on the balcony. He put a finger to his lips so the blonde wouldn't interrupt the feuding couple on the couch.

"Are you two quite through wasting our time?" Ritsuka interrupted for him, making Soubi laugh out loud as the couple stopped arguing.

"You're a rude child, you know that?" The wife wondered.

"I'm an annoyed teenager, actually." Ritsuka replied. "I've got permission to bring all three of you along. The quicker we move, the better."

"What's the rush?" Iza stood, not willing to argue with an already pissed off Executioner.

"Nothing I'm willing to discuss here. When we're in the limo, we can discuss further."

"A limo…?" The wife stood slowly with the baby. "Just who are you…?" She looked between both Iza and Ritsuka.

"He's…of high influence at my job." Iza stated simply. "We can discuss things later…if you're willing to, Executioner."

Ritsuka shrugged one shoulder. "I suppose its best to keep her as informed as possible, considering where we're going."

"Executioner?"

"Where are we going, exactly?" Iza quirked an eyebrow.

Ritsuka smirked. "Seven Voices."


	24. This Is Not The Solution I Intended On

Dlbn: Greetings and salutations! Has it really been three months? Oops…

Nbld: With everything going on (crazy drama, you don't even wanna know), there's been no inspiration or drive to write. But since I sprained my knee and ankle and can't do much aside from work, taking care of my son, and other miscellaneous chores, I may as well get my butt back to work.

Dlbn: We'll try not to take so long between updates and get back into our weekly schedule. I get at least two days a week off from work so I have plenty of time to update once the little one goes to bed or when I first wake up.

Nbld: Anyway, let's get ahead to the Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat and TheDarkCat for reviewing! Apology cake for you both!

Promocat: Its about time he starts using his position to take control of the situation.

TheDarkCat: It would make sense for Faceless to be behind everything, but that's not what its shaping up to be! Even they can't perfectly copy another Unit. I'm glad you're enjoying! I'm really enjoying writing this one. Its my biggest non-canon-style fic for Loveless yet, honestly. Other than the song parody one I wrote forever ago and abandoned. Can't blame him for doing what's right, but he rally should have paid more attention to Utena. Or at least found a way to better defuse the situation with her and his wife. He really just takes a back burner to it. Eventually she might. It depends on how much Septimal Moon decides to let her remember once everything is all said and done.

Disclaimer: I own a few non-canon Units and the plot. I do NOT own anything canon to Loveless. That belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off writing this.

Dedication: Dedicated to my reviewers and readers that I've left hanging for so long. Also to Loveless book 13, which was short, but includes a memo from Koga hinting that she's going to get back to writing. How exciting!

000

It took far too long for Ritsuka's taste to reach the academy. Between the looks of animosity Iza's wife would shoot at Utena and the slightly irritated begging of her husband to stop, he was about to ask Soubi to use a spell to blow his head off. Utena and Akito were at least amicable, almost absurdly so for separate Units. It reminded him of how the Zero boys had basically clung to him since the day they met. It wasn't unusual for people to be friends with other Units, but they were close enough that he'd confuse them for siblings if he didn't know any better. Or, at least, what he thought siblings were supposed to be like. Since he was certain the majority of his memories with Seimei that he'd retained post-memory loss were fake, and some of the ones he'd regained were questionable at best, it wasn't like he had ever experienced a normal sibling bond.

He heard the gates of the school creak open as he slowly woke from the nap he'd slipped into about two hours into the trip so he wouldn't have to listen to Iza's wife and her craziness. The vehicle was eerily quiet, and he was certain for a moment that everyone else had followed his lead and slept, but he looked around to realize it seemed like they were all just in awe. Strange, considering that four of them should have at least _seen_ the Academy before, if not gone to it for a bit like Utena did with Taka.

"Welcome to Seven Voices Academy." Hideki greeted over the intercom. "I'm sorry."

Ritsuka couldn't help but laugh as the girls giggled. Soubi hugged him a little closer as he chuckled as well. Ritsu was waiting at the front door of the Academy with Nagisa and Zero when the limo stopped and Hideki opened the door. Ritsuka let the guests climb out of the vehicle first. Himself and Soubi followed close behind. Zero let out twin cries of his true name and tackled him against the limo.

"Get off me!" Ritsuka complained, shoving them both back. "Jackasses!"

"We just missed you." Yoji laughed, tongue hanging out of the corner of his mouth a little.

"Yeah, it's been forever since we got the old gang back together." Natsuo slung an arm around Ritsuka's shoulders. "So we're jackasses for missing our best friend? For shame, Aoyagi."

"I was here two weeks ago…you two do this every time I show up." He answered, not bothering to shove Natsuo's arm off him.

"Can't any of you behave for five seconds?" Mikado wondered, exiting the school with an umbrella to shield her from the sun.

Tokino was with her, shaking his head and laughing slightly behind his hand at the antics of the other Executioners.

"Live a little, would you, Mikado?" Yoji glared, fur on his tail standing on edge. "So serious all the time."

"Considering the circumstances, it would do us all a little good if you took your job seriously and showed a little maturity."

"Yes, because that's possible for them." Nagisa rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest. "You know it's not worth the trouble talking to them, Gomon."

She sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Welcome to the Academy." Ritsu greeted, looking specifically at Iza's wife. "The civilian?"

"Civilian?" She echoed.

"M-My wife, Yumiko, yes, Sensei." Iza bowed slightly. "And our daughter, Kumiko."

Ritsu nodded. "I'll show you to your rooms. Meeting in an hour and a half."

"For Septimal Moon." Mikado corrected. "Executioners, meeting in ten."

"Seriously?" Yoji put his hands in his pockets and scuffed his toe on the ground. "Aoyagi just got here for god's sake."

"Thank you for looking out for my wellbeing." Ritsuka rolled his eyes.

"Executioners…?" Yumiko asked. "Iza, care to explain what's going on…?"

"Not really, no." He brushed her off.

She glared at him. "Just how many secrets are you keeping from me?" She looked point blank at Utena.

"We may be on school property, and you may be a civilian, but keep it up, Yumiko, and you won't like my response." Utena threatened.

"Excuse me?"

"Control your Fighter, would you?" Mikado smiled prettily up at Iza.

He flushed. "Ladies, come on…stop." Iza ordered. "We're not here to fight, we're here because we're all in danger."

"Wow, how authoritative." Nagisa giggled. "Boys, let's go. Stop hanging all over Aoyagi. I'm sure you're just succeeding in making Agatsuma jealous."

"As if." Soubi snorted.

Yumiko cocked an eyebrow, "I'm sorry, but…?"

"Not your business." Ritsuka informed, taking Soubi's hand and leading him and Zero into the building. He stopped at the staircase to look down at Iza, aware of how intimidating the group looked when lumped together-minus Nana and Asitai, of course-and smirking internally at the shiver he saw race down the Sacrifice's spine.

"Do control the situation, would you?" He looked to Akito and her father. "Make yourselves at home. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." They nodded as he turned to Utena and Yumiko. "And you control yourself. That goes for both of you."

Without another word, he went inside, everyone else following. Hideki started guiding everyone inside shortly after, but Ritsuka and the rest of the Spell hierarchy were vanished into the school walls as they just began to enter the lobby for registration.

The silence that settled on the Executioners meeting' chamber was almost enough to cut glass. No one had really spoken since Mikado greeted them all and gave each a folder to discuss the situation at hand.

"We have no leads." Ritsuka commented at last, if to at least erase the silence. "All we know is that this Unit has the uncanny ability to be anyone. It makes them hard to track."

"We're Executioners. It shouldn't be this hard for us to track down and eliminate a rogue unit." Yoji complained. "Emphasis on the _eliminate_. There's no way we're going to let them get off with a warning or some other pansy bullshit, right? They've killed three people, one being a full Unit."

"They're on my list, yes." Mikado stated, continuing to look through her notes. "You have absolutely nothing, Aoyagi?"

"Nothing that hasn't been reported already." Soubi offered.

"I believe I was talking to your master."

"Don't put it that way, Mikado, that's how my brother thinks." Ritsuka pointed out, making her scowl and Tokino give him a harsh glare he supposed was meant to be intimidating. "But he's right. All we have is a generic description of a pair, who's genders we aren't even sure of. The father confirms that his child's description of the Flightless pair that went up to her doesn't match the description of the real Flightless. I have a heading as to how Victorious got wrapped up into all of this, as well."

"Care to share?"

"The deceased Kaji, Fighter of Tamed, and deceased Haika, fighter of Victorious, were involved in a minor love triangle with the deceased Nishi, also of Victorious. It's my belief that they were killed to tie up any loose ends. To keep them out of things they had no business being a part of in the first place, if you will."

"Guilty by association only."

"So they got killed because the Fighters were screwing?" Yoji and Natsuo burst into laughter. "That's rich!"

Mikado rolled her eyes, but she didn't reprimand the boisterous teens.

"Any Unit tied to either Tamed or Victorious is now in danger." Mikado tapped her papers on the table. "Is that what you're trying to avoid saying, Aoyagi?"

He gave her a sideways look. "If you're insinuating that I'm hiding something about this investigation from you, Mikado, you can take that insinuation and shove it up your backside."

It would have been a little more threatening if he hadn't said it so calmly with a straight face. Still, Mikado stared at him in slack-jawed awe while Yoji and Natsuo cackled behind their hands. Soubi chuckled as well, patting his boyfriend on the head between his ears as he did so. Mikado finally closed her mouth and clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

"That is not what I was insinuating…" She responded with a clear of her throat. "I'm just trying to get all the facts here. Any useless casualties that we can prevent, we will work to do so."

Ritsuka snorted. "You and I both know that isn't what you meant, Mikado."

She rolled her eyes. "Think what you want, Loveless. Back to the matter at hand." She cleared her throat. "Do we know who else may be connected to either Victorious or Tamed, and might be in trouble?"

"No." He shook his head. "We don't have much information about their relationships outside of one another. As I said, the information we've gathered is minimal at best."

She pursed her lips, seemingly unsatisfied with his answer. Ritsuka only shrugged, remaining as indifferent to her look as he could manage.

"So we're going to go nowhere. No idea where these people are, who they are, or who they're after next." Yoji rolled his eyes, leaning his elbows on the table and chin on his hands. "And we can't make a move on our _own_ orders because we don't know if the information we have is false or not, since these idiots are pretending to be another Unit for this case and doing it so well."

"About right, yes." Soubi commented.

Tokino shook his head. "Your territory is falling apart, Aoyagi, I hope you realize that. Perhaps you shouldn't be left in control of your own land."

Ritsuka glared. "Keep the comments to yourself, Moonless." He scolded. "Tokyo is my territory. These people are outsiders at best, people faking their way into my territory under false claims of being from _my_ own home organization. I've been doing what I can. What has anyone else been doing? Waiting on me to step in and find information and make up answers that I don't have, just so we can continue to step two."

The room was silent for a few moments.

"So take us back to Tokyo with you." Yoji suggested.

Ritsuka blinked. "Please tell me you're not serious."

"Three heads are better than two." Natsuo shrugged one shoulder.

"Pretty sure you mean eight are better than four." Yoji chuckled at his own attempt at lewd humor, while Natsuo just sighed and bonked him on the head.

"What do you think, Gomen? You can handle things here. Dispatch us out to help Aoyagi."

"You two would completely blow my cover." Ritsuka informed. "No one would be able to trust me again if they find out what it is we are, what I am."

"Eh, Agatsuma can erase the memories if he has to." Yoji waved him off. "So, what do you think, Moonless? Send us, huh? Huh?" He leaned forward with every word.

She sighed. "If it makes you happy." She waved him off.

The twins cheered, high fiving one another.

"You can't be serious!" Ritsuka stood, slamming his hands onto the table. "You know that is a terrible idea, you just want to shut them up! And you know it!"

"Settle down, Aoyagi. Its my official decision." She gathered her papers together. "Now, no more of this nonsense. Septimal Moon will be meeting later this afternoon. If you wish to appeal my decision, please, bring it up with the council." She stood. "This meting is adjourned. Zero, keep an eye on things around Tokyo and see what you can come up with. Obviously, the same goes for you Aoyagi."

He glared at her retreating back as she left, Fighter in tow. Yoji stood. "Well…I guess we should get packing."

"Don't ruin things for me, Yoji…please…" Ritsuka hung his head. "I'm still against this, but you're my friends, so I suppose it was only so long before you came around…"

"They'll probably stay with me." Soubi informed. "I'll keep them in line."

Yoji and Natsuo remained indifferent to his look and simply stuck out their tongues, before bounding out of the room together. Ritsuka laid his head on the table.

"I'm screwed…"


	25. I Guess We're At A Standstill

Dlbn: Hello there everyone! Got a day off, so time to update!

Nbld: Review Corner! Thank you to The DarkCat and Promocat for reviewing! Cake for you both!

The DarkCat: I definitely have plans to keep this one going, I just need time and motivation go to do it. Days off where I have nothing planned are best for me to update on, but they don't come around often ^^" Anyway, glad you're enjoying! In my head canon, part of Ritsuka's name includes people easily loving him (hence Seimei, Soubi, Yuiko, and possibly Osamu to a degree in the manga), him easily falling for other people because he doesn't get love from his parents (chapter in the manga he says he loves Yuiko and his sensei), and his name just being super ironic like Seimei's (Beloved but almost everyone hates Seimei, so Loveless but almost everyone loves Ritsuka), so he can easily sway people with his charm. Pretty sure Zero will annoy him to death, and he'll be glad once it's all over and they can go home XD

Promocat: They're pretty straight forward and brutally honest, which I think adds to the humor they bring to the table. But definitely craziness as well.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and a few OCs. I make NO money off writing this. Everything canon belongs to Yun Kouga, and therefore not me.

000

The Septimal Moon meeting hall was unusually full, considering that a few chairs were normally empty. Ritsuka, for one, tried to only attend when absolutely necessary. For once, both absentee members were present, sitting near one another and whispering back and forth as Nagisa and Ritsu argued yet again over something that didn't matter. Nana was working on her computer, still trying to find anything she could about the mysterious suspects. Mikado was ignoring everyone in favor of going over her notes. Eventually, the chatter was broken by Nana.

"We have more important things to do than sit around arguing." Nana stated. "Get on with the meeting so we can get on with our jobs."

Ritsu and Nagisa glared at her, the former sighing and rubbing his temples. "Very well." He stated. "Aoyagi, you have the floor."

Ritsuka stood, regretting doing so the moment he did. "I have finally made contact with the Sacrifice of Tamed, and her father." He began. "As we suspected, they were in hiding, presumably from the Unit who approached them as Flightless and is suspected to be the one behind the murders of Kaji of Tamed, and the unit Victorious." He cleared his throat. "She said that they had been approached on foot, under the guise of this Unit working for Septimal Moon and _accidentally_ coming across them. The description she gave matches the one other witnesses have given, but her father confirmed that Flightless' actual description does not match."

The projector behind him held photographs of the real Flightless next to artist conceptual drawings of the Unit that had approached Akito, hand drawn by Soubi. Ritsuka could swore he heard Ritsu swoon but chose to ignore the elder sensei.

"To a degree, we already suspected that the unit masquerading as Flightless and the actual Flightless unit were not one and the same." Ritsuka informed. "After meeting with the real Akito, I can safely say with one hundred percent certainty that she and the Akito we met at their home are also not one and the same. Akito's father surmises that the reason we couldn't find evidence when we went back to the home was because it was staged that way. He and Akito had cleaned the house top to bottom to remove traces of themselves. He believes that all traces of the fake were removed so it would appear that the house was never entered." He paused for a moment or two in case anyone wanted to interrupt him. "As for Victorious, Akito says that her fighter and the fighter of Victorious, Haika, were in a somewhat intimate relationship. The sacrifice didn't appreciate it, but there obviously wasn't much he could have done to stop it. It is the belief of the Executioners that this fake Unit is tying up loose ends; eliminating anyone that is too close to Tamed and therefore poses a risk to them."

"Its possible Haika-kun saw something that the fake unit didn't want anyone seeing and made herself and her sacrifice targets by association." Mikado nodded her agreement. "But with both members of Victorious, and Kaji-sensei dead, there is no one to attest to that. From testimony of students of Kaji-sensei, he left school in a rush the day he went missing to meet with some male. It's possible that Akito wasn't there and can't attest to what Haika-san may have seen."

Ritsuka nodded. "Only the false unit will be able to give us any clues to that now, but we are no closer to finding them than when we started this." He informed. "Thus, is it the decision of the Executioners that Zero return to Tokyo with me to provide extra assistance."

"Are you crazy?" Nagisa stood quickly, hands slamming on the table. "Taking my baby Zeroes that far away from their home, _without me_? You two know better than anyone else how those two are. This is reckless. And you're _allowing_ this?" She turned viciously to Mikado.

"It was her decision, actually." Soubi informed.

Nagisa glared at him a second before turning her rage back to Mikado.

"Absolutely not! I forbid it!" She turned to Ritsu. "Ritsu, you big dummy, _do_ something!"

"I don't think it's a bad idea, Nagisa. Aoyagi is clearly in over his head and could use the assistance." Ritsu informed, earning twin glares from the Loveless unit.

"So?" Send _her_!" She pointed angrily at Mikado.

"I am needed here, Nagisa, you and I both know that." Mikado informed, smiling prettily at the elder woman. The most logical solution would eb to send your Zeros to assist. If Aoyagi finds himself in a sticky situation that even Agatsuma can't get him out of, they know full well what to do."

"Is _no one_ going to object here?" Nagisa asked.

"No one but you, it would seem." Asitai informed, loosening his tie. "You know Aoyagi can't do it alone, and the rest of us are absolutely needed here. Mikado can handle Executioner duties on her own, you know that full well. Unless you intend on taking your _babies_ ' place, and we all know a Sacrifice without a Fighter is useless, then they are the only logical choice."

Nagisa growled under her breath and sat down, pouting with her arms over her chest like a child as she muttered angrily to herself.

"Believe me, Sensei, I'm as against it as you are." Ritsuka informed her. "I don't like others intruding on my territory."

"Your friends are _intruding_? How _cold,_ Loveless." Mikado chided.

He glared. "Don't twist my words, Moonless."

"Calm down." Ritsu ordered, feeling the air near the youngest member of the group start to prickle with his anger and battle signature. "Zero is going, end of discussion. Why are we here, Loveless? This meeting was called by you."

Ritsuka cleared his throat, blushing at being scolded. "Ah, yes." He stood again, part of him not realizing he had even sat down in the first place. "This Unit we are tracking could be anyone. It could be a neighbor or a friend, it could even be a student or staff of this academy. They have the odd ability to mimic any Unit to perfection, though they don't appear capable of changing their physical appearance to match. But anyone who doesn't know the difference, doesn't know exactly what a Unit they masquerade as looks like, could easily be fooled into thinking that they are indeed the real Unit. No one knows about this fake outside of Tamed, her father, Shameless, and the organizations hidden safely behind these school walls know about the existence of a Unit who is able to perfectly masquerade as other Units. They'd easily be fooled. As such, this Unit can pretend to be _anyone_ and use that name to cause trouble. When they get caught, they can just change into another Unit, or even their own true forms, and disappear into the night. No one any the wiser. They can cause trouble as any Unit they wish to, only to leave the actual Unit behind to take the fall." Ritsuka paused. "The very essence of what the Executioners do is track down rogue Units who are causing trouble. Sometimes the only information that we _have_ come from victims of crimes or witnesses of our world. In good faith, we rely on these people for intel, as material witnesses to draw evidence from to build our case and justify the response."

"We know full well what we do, Aoyagi. Get on with it." Mikado blinked at him, not bothering to try and use her charm that she knew wouldn't work on him.

After all, his brother mimicked her charm and he was rather sick of _that_ drama.

"Our positions are at stake. Our power is unlimited. If Units are proven innocent, especially Units we've chased and sentenced, it looks bad on us. It looks like the Executioners, and by extension, Septimal Moon, moved too fast and eliminated an innocent Unit just because they _could_. We can no longer trust our own information, nor the eyes and ears of anyone that has filed a report since this Unit has come into play. We have no way to determine when they started masquerading as other Units, no way to determine whether past Units we have sentenced and Executed were actually innocent and being framed. The last thing we need is a revolt on par with the revolution you yourselves started decades ago." Ritsuka paused. "I request that we put a cease order on all Executioner activities until this case is solved, and the rogue Unit is brought down as what they are. My brother's schemes and spur of the moment activities are hard enough to handle, let alone something this well thought out. We cannot risk ourselves being called into question and forcibly stopped. The last thing we need is for our own people to not trust those in power to protect them. It will not only affect the spell world, but the civilian world as well. Without Septimal Moon and Executioners, rogue Units, traitors and troublemakers, will be able to run free without punishment."

"This goes far beyond the scope of anything we've encountered before." Soubi informed them. "It would be foolish to just throw caution to the wind and continue as necessary."

"Someone is out to ruin us, and we don't know who, because they could literally be anyone at one moment, and anyone else in the next." Ritsuka stated. "With our government in jeopardy, I reiterate the recommendation to cease operations."

He sat down as silence took over. Asitai tapped a pen on his chin.

"Your proposal certainly is out of sorts." The doctor informed. "To cease operations would leave us in a state of free for all. No rules, no punishments brings about the same results as a purge; anarchy."

Ritsuka nodded. "Understood." He informed. "Calculating the risk, it would be more problematic for us to execute and punish Units while knowing that there is someone out there masquerading as whoever they please. Knowing the risks, we cannot, in good conscience, continue to operate. The results of us ceasing operations is far less than the risks of us continuing to punish and risking punishing the wrong people. It will be seen as an abuse of power, simply a lack of caring for who in our world lives or dies. We won't be protecting our people, we'll be assassinating them."

"No one will need to know that we cease operations." Mikado offered, tapping her papers on the desktop. "Loveless can continue to test. Tokino and I can continue to investigate. As for Zero, if they're helping Aoyagi in Tokyo with the murder case, they obviously won't be hunting in our territory. Should we decide to cease operations, no one would be any the wiser."

No one spoke for a few minutes.

"All in favor of Aoyagi's stalemate proposal?" Ritsu wondered.

"Hai." The others all responded, minus Ritsuka and Soubi since it was their proposal in the first place.

"Settled." Ritsu informed. "We will cease operations. Moonless will continue investigating crimes against our world, while Aoyagi continues testing and Zero assist in the murder investigation out in Tokyo."

"Fine, but if anything happens to my Zeroes, I'm holding _you_ personally responsible, Loveless." Nagisa stood, pointing at him. "And you know you don't want my wrath upon you." Her eyes flickered up to Soubi. " _Either_ of you."

"Hai, sensei." Ritsuka responded. "However, it _is_ Zero we are talking about here. I can't control what they do, nor the trouble they get into."

She growled. "Fine. They will be staying with you, Agatsuma."

"Hai." The blonde nodded.

"Now for other matters. Shameless, Akito, and her father have joined our school temporarily as a safety precaution. Iza, the Shameless Sacrifice, has brought along his child and wife for protection. We are concerned that they may be potential future targets, since the Fighter, Utena, is close with Akito. No other Units have been named during this investigation." Ritsu took the floor, standing and pacing slightly. "Soubi-kun, you'll have to erase the wife's memory once this nightmare is over, understood? We can't have any loose ends left in the world once we're done with this nonsense."

Soubi nodded. "It was understood from the beginning that that would be the case, sensei, yes."

"Just making certain you don't forget because it's easier that way. We all know the bad blood between his wife and his Fighter; don't act like you wouldn't let her remember everything to keep the peace."

'Never." Ritsuka glared. "We know better than to risk our world over something as stupid as _simplicity_."

Ritsu nodded. "And what of your brother? Do we have anything that could link him to the crimes at hand?"

"Nothing." Mikado informed. "As usual, Seimei is keeping his hands clean. If he's anywhere involved in this, he's doing it through means that don't require any actual work on his part. A whisper into Akame's ear, for example."

"Try him again." Ritsu told Ritsuka. "With Zero. They can see through your brother better than your rose-colored glasses viewpoint can."

Ritsuka rolled his eyes. "Unlike my mother, I don't think that sunshine comes out of Seimei's ass when he takes a shit." He informed. "I have not been fooled by Seimei in a long time; I don't intend to start falling for his tricks now, in this pivotal moment."

There was a moment of silence, Nana coughing breaking it apart.

"If my Zeroes are going to Tokyo, I have a lot of paperwork to complete." Nagisa informed. "Is there anything else we need to discuss?"

"Moonless, meet with Shameless and Akito. Separately. I want you to see what else you can drag out of them." Ritsu ordered.

"Tread lightly. Between the skittishness of the father and the obvious ignorance of the wife, it may be hard to get information you need." Ritsuka warned.

She nodded. "Noted. Arigato."

He didn't answer.

"Meeting is adjourned." Ritsu stood. "Aoyagi, Soubi, I insist you spend the night on school grounds until it is time to send you home. Brief Zero on anything they need to know. I'll have Nagisa enroll them in your school."

Ritsuka groaned. His spell life and his civilian life crashing like that was _not_ something he was looking forward to. But it was a direct order from Ritsu, so he'd have to deal with it. Damn Mikado and her _genius_ ideas to hell.


	26. Trouble, Thy Name Is Zero

Dlbn: Hello everyone! We're in a better mood than usual, so time for an update! This was going to be longer, but the next section makes it too long. We'll update again this week some time. I have no days off but I work late every day, so there's that.

Nbld: So as of today we're working a solid eight days straight *eye twitch*. But at elast we're out early Sunday for a Luke Bryan concert. Review Corner! Thank you to The DarkCat and promocat for reviewing! Candy for you both!

The DarkCat: Thanks! I hoped it would clear some things up. Someone needs to find them and get them under control before too many people end up suffering, and Ritsuka is going to make sure its him that does it. After all, it's his territory they're screwing with. Nagisa hides her love for Ritsu well XD As for Ritsuka, after four years of it, he's sick and tired of Seimei's crap, and his frustration comes out in interesting ways XD

Promocat: They're going to either help him or ruin his life. If it's the second one, I'm sure he'll handle it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and any OCs. Anything canon to Loveless belongs to Yun Kouga. I make no money off this.

Dedication: Dedicated to my court victory yesterday giving me complete custody of my son and keeping us safe. Thank you to my lawyer for helping me every step of the way.

000

From the moment Ritsuka returned from Gora with Soubi and Zero, he knew that this was not going to go well. The moment he found that Yoji and Natsuo had successfully been enrolled in his school and were in his science class, he knew it was going to be a disaster. They were halfway through a lab when Yoji not reading instructions carefully had created a miniature explosion that left the duo with cleaning duties during their lunch break. Nagisa had been shrill and angry when she'd been informed that her _babies_ had been in trouble on the first day of school. Upon hearing her reaction, the headmaster himself apologized to the twins and sent them on their merry way without punishment. Having her for a mother was punishment enough, he had told them when he let them go. Ritsuka, for one, was mortified by the behavior of both Nagisa and the twins. She was supposed to be the mother, but she was more of an out of control child than the two of them were combined; and that was saying something.

Once school let out, Ritsuka walked down the front stairs with Yuiko and Yayoi. Yoji and Natsuo had hurriedly gone ahead, not wanting to be stuck inside the school walls for another minute. Ritsuka couldn't hear what they were saying as they complained to Soubi at the front gate. But with all the arm flailing from Yoji and the general ignoring from Soubi as he casually smoked a cigarette, Ritsuka decided that not only did he not care, but he was growing more and more annoyed the longer the boys were around. They were great friends, he couldn't deny that. But having them around waned on his nerves and he couldn't wait to get them going on their own way again.

"It's a conspiracy, I tell ya!" Yoji complained.

"Only conspiracy here is you pretending to be _normal_." Ritsuka scolded. "Soubi, put out the cigarette, please."

"Hai, gomen." Soubi put the lit stick out and smushed it into the ground with his toe.

"You just don't get it." Yoji complained, shaking his head.

"You got into trouble on your _first day_! I _told_ them this was a bad idea, but _no_ , I don't know anything and this is what's best. My ass."

"Who's _they_ ,Ritsuka-kun?" Yuiko asked.

"Our mother and uncle." Yoji covered.

"You're referring to Ritsu as your uncle?" Soubi cocked an eyebrow. "And here I thought your family couldn't be any more screwed up."

" _You're_ family too, asshat."

A coverup for how Ritsuka knew the twins was, as a spur of the moment, that his boyfriend and the twins were cousins.

"At least I can admit my family is screwed up." Soubi informed. "You two seem to be in denial."

Natsuo stuck his tongue out. "Who's your friends, Ritsuka? Are you going to be rude and not introduce us? I'm hurt."

"Hawatari Yuiko and Shioiri Yayoi." Ritsuka glowered, gesturing to each of his friends in turn. "This is Sagan Natsuo and Yoji; Soubi's cousins."

"Pleased to meet you!" Yuiko beamed. "My name is Yuiko."

"I gathered." Yoji quipped.

"When are we going to see… _him_ …?" Ritsuka sked Soubi while the twins and his civilian friends were distracted by trying to get to know one another.

"As soon as you're ready." Soubi informed. "Other than classes and a couple project work dates with Akira and Kio, my schedule is free."

"When is it not?"

"That's a fair question."

Ritsuka chuckled. "I'm not in the mood to deal with him after dealing with _them_ ," he motioned to Zero, "so we'll see how I feel tomorrow after school. Hold me to it."

"How shall I do that?"

"Refuse to sleep with me."

"I already do that."

"Fair enough…"

Soubi chuckled.

"Yuiko has to get going." The pinkette looked at her watch. "Momma is coming home early today. I wanted to surprise her with dinner!"

"I'll walk you, Yuiko." Yayoi offered with a smile.

"Thanks, Yayoi-san! You're the best!" She hugged him, making him blush before hugging Ritsuka goodbye. "Come on, let's go!"

He practically had to jog after her.

"So one is a tool, and the other is in love with her." Yoji cocked his head to the side, watching Ritsuka's friends. "You sure know how to pick them, Aoyagi. Real winners you got there."

"You should be looking in a mirror as you say that, Yoji." Ritsuka informed.

The greenette glared.

"Since you two didn't hear, we're meeting Seimei after school tomorrow." Soubi informed.

"Are we just invading his territory, or does he know we're coming?" Natsuo asked.

"Well…he doesn't…not know that we're not coming…"

"Triple negative?" Yoji cocked an eyebrow. "Nice try. So he has no clue."

"This won't end well."

"Funny. I thought the same thing when Mikado said I had to bring you two home."

The twins glared, but it didn't faze the sacrifice. He had enough issues to deal with without warning about the two liabilities that were just thrown onto his lap with no clear game plan.


	27. Of Traitors and Mutineers

Dlbn: Welcome to another update! Its been a couple weeks but two weeks ago we went to a Luke Bryan concert and last week had no time or energy to update. But here we are with a day off and a new chapter!

Nbld: September is a super hard month for us, but we're going to try and keep a more regular updating schedule. Let's start with the Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Candy for you both!

Promocat: Thank you! I figure they'd have a descent interaction if their first meeting went better than it did in the series ^^"

The DarkCat: That's their middle names. Should have been their true names, but we'll stick with Zero. For Zero sense of decorum, Zero remorse, Zero people skills, etc. If I were the headmaster, I'd respond the same way XD and for some reason, Ritsuka wants to be a part of that same family. Well, can't be any worse than his own family, though.

Disclaimer: I own nothing outside of OCs. Anything canon to Loveless belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off writing this.

Dedication: This is dedicated to my two-week anniversary with my boyfriend. I know celebrating weeks is juvenile and blah, blah, but this is the happiest I've ever been in a relationship, so I'm more than happy to shamelessly brag ;)

000

Standing just outside the gate to Seimei's home, Ritsuka couldn't help but feel nervous. Seimei had opened the invitation to come by whenever he wanted but coming to see him with the Zero boys was like asking for trouble. And that was the one thing he didn't need more of. Trouble.

"What are you waiting for?" Yoji nudged him. "Open the gate and let's go deal with the nutjob."

"I don't like this. The invitation was for me and me only. Bringing you violates our agreement and is no better than just asking to declare war." Ritsuka responded. "Me being here right now may be a Septimal Moon order but bringing you two along is suicide."

"It will be fine. You worry too much." Natsuo stated, waving him off.

Ritsuka sighed, thinking the situation over one more time before finally opening the gate and walking up to the front door. He rang the doorbell. A few minutes later, it opened and a green haired girl that looked a lot like Kio answered.

"Ah, hello, Loveless." She greeted, arms open wide. "How nice of you to visit! And you brought friends…?" She leaned closer, fists on her hips. "Not sure Seimei will like this…"

"I agree, but they're insistent." Ritsuka informed. "He told me I could come over whenever I needed to."

"No closer to solving these murders, eh?" She wondered, straightening up. "You must be getting desperate if you're coming _here,_ of all places, about it."

"Yeah, trust me, this isn't where I want to be…is he home…?"

"Where else would he be?" Chouma wondered. "Prancing around the streets with Akame, waiting for someone to recognize him so he has an excuse to kill again? As if."

"That actually sounds exactly like something my brother would do." Ritsuka argued.

"Hm…yes, I suppose so." She shrugged. "Come on in. Your friends, I'm afraid, will have to wait in the other room. Seimei won't speak to you with others present."

"Can't the king of multiple personalities, and none of them good, get off his high horse?" Yoji rubbed the back of his neck, clicking his tongue in annoyance. "We came all this way, you know."

She shrugged. "Sorry, kid, not my rules." She replied. "Don't shoot the messenger. Just wait in there."

She motioned to a TV room to the left. The TV was on, but it appeared she was the one that had been using it since no one else was around. Some odd noises could be heard coming from under the house in what Ritsuka hoped was just an ordinary basement. Chouma covered her ears and stomped harshly on the floor.

"We have guests! Keep that shit to yourselves!" She complained.

"Bite me!" Akame shouted back. "Ow! Not you!"

"Gross." Natsuo stuck out his tongue.

"If you will?" She motioned to the TV room again. "It's loud enough you can't hear those two idiots going at it downstairs."

The twins shared a look.

"I'll be fine." Ritsuka told them. "Seimei wouldn't hurt me."

"It's cute that you think that, Loveless." Yoji informed him, nodding towards the room.

Natsuo followed him in and they were soon fighting over chair space and the remote. Ritsuka shook his head at them.

"Was that entirely necessary?" Ritsuka asked.

"Your brother won't speak to you with other people there."

"Because he thinks he can better manipulate me if I'm alone without anyone to get in the way."

"Essentially." She giggled. "Don't worry, I'll keep your friends company and won't let them get hurt. You just go talk to your brother." She pointed down the hall. "He should be in the sitting room."

He nodded, watching the oddly dressed woman leave to bother Zero and sighed. He made his way down the hall, noting light underneath one door. He didn't bother to knock and just opened the door. Seimei was looking over some papers as he sat in a reclining chair. There was a fireplace crackling on one side of the room and the only other furniture were an arm chair sitting across from him and a coffee table in the middle.

"It's impolite to enter a room without knocking, you know." Seimei informed, gently taking off and folding his glasses. "I can't _count_ how many times I've warned you against doing that. I hate rudeness."

He stood and froze in place, papers scattering to the floor. "Ritsuka?" The elder brother wondered. "You're here? To what do I owe…? Oh, never mind. It's just good to see you again." He took a step forward.

Ritsuka held up a hand. "Save it, Seimei. I didn't just come here to visit, you know."

"Let me guess. Aside from all evidence proving otherwise, those fools you've aligned yourselves with still think I'm at fault and sent you to interrogate me and trip me up so you can say I _confessed_ , no? please, Ritsuka, I think you'd know me better than that."

"I think you'd know me better than to think that I would stoop to that level." Ritsuka snorted. "That's not why I'm here."

"A thousand pardons." Seimei bowed his head slightly. "Why are you here, then?"

"I'm…stuck."

"Stuck?" Seimei cocked an eyebrow, ears twitching. "Ah, you have no leads and don't know what to do."

"Someone is out to ruin us." Ritsuka informed. "We've narrowed down the motive, but we still have no culprits. They're not Flightless."

"Flightless are deceased, if I recall correctly." Seimei answered. "These people have introduced themselves as a dead Unit? How bold. Anyone who knows our history would know that they were lying."  
"They could be anyone." Ritsuka informed. "Anyone on our lists, anyone I've run into, anyone that's helped me so far in this investigation…we know it's not Faceless. They can get away with almost anything because no one can remember them, but they can't perfectly mimic another Unit…"

"I see." Seimei paused for a moment. "As I said before, that's an impossible task."

"They're pulling it off, Seimei."

"Not well enough if the name was in the wrong spot."

Ritsuka glared. "How did you know that? That's our inform…you…you're spying on us, aren't you? Getting the information you want out of us without having to communicate with us…"

Seimei blinked. "I'm afraid I don't know that you're talking about."

"Akame is a hacker. Of course you'd be able to…" Ritsuka shook his head. "I didn't think you could stoop so low, Seimei."

"I'm protecting you." He corrected harshly. "How am I supposed to help you out and keep you safe if I don't _know_ anything?"

"When you betrayed Septimal Moon, that was a risk you were willing to take."

"I didn't think you'd take my place, Ritsuka. I couldn't picture you becoming an Executioner."

"Then you don't know me as well as you or I thought you did, I suppose." Ritsuka taunted.

"Come now…" Seimei scolded. "Don't act like that." He started to pace. "With your memories gone, how was I to know you'd not only regain a few, but that you'd even _want_ my seat? A pacifist Executioner? How absurd…and yet…" He paused to give his brother a once over. "I didn't want you to become like me, to share my fate in this world." He walked closer. "I hope that you could forgive me for putting you into such a compromising position."

"So, you admit this is all your fault? Good to know, Seimei, but the apology is four years too late." Ritsuka snorted.

"Please, Ritsuka…" Seimei took his hands in his own. "Please forgive me…I never meant to hurt you…"

"We're getting off topic, Seimei." Ritsuka scolded. "I didn't come here looking for explanations of your own bad choices and groveling apologies. I came here because I'm stuck. I don't know what to do next…crime like this are your forte; not mine."

Seimei sighed, hanging his head to his hair obscured his face, but Ritsuka knew he was smirking. "And what do your superiors say about this…?" He looked up. "Do they know you've come to their greatest enemy for _help_?"

"Ritsu…suggested it…"

Seimei seemed to chuckle at that, eyes practically lighting up. "Seriously? Ha, that's rich…coming to _me_ for help…" He paused. "I'm afraid I can't really help in this matter, Ritsuka. I haven't been investigating, and…"

"Bullshit; you've seen all the evidence and assumptions." Ritsuka rolled his eyes. "Playing mind games won't work, Seimei. I'm too old to fall for them now."

"I'm not playing mind games. Have they corrupted you against me that much?"

"You've done that yourself, thank you." Ritsuka replied. "But about why I'm here…"

Seimei sighed. "As I said, I don't know enough to be of assistance." He shook his head. "I can just repeat what you already know, but that's a waste of both our time."

"You were an Executioner…did you ever encounter this type of thing before?"

"People wanting to out Septimal Moon? Of course. I can't deny that even I desire to do the same. This has nothing to do with me, but if you want my best guess, you're on the right track. Finding out who's in charge, though, that's on you. I can't imagine they're working alone."

"Hm…" Ritsuka paused. "They've got to be getting intel from somewhere…"

Seimei nodded. "Now you're thinking clearly."

"How do I figure out who when I can't even _catch_ these people?"

Seimei shrugged. "Your friends are the Hunters, yes? Send them out to do work. Oh, but they're your classmates now…looks like your work hours are cut in half…"

"So, you _are_ aware of what's going on in my end of things. Why the act?"

"I'm a showman." A shrug. "Besides, it wouldn't do me any good to give all my little secrets away, not even to my own flesh and blood." He put a hand to Ritsuka's cheek that was promptly batted away.

"Don't act like we're friends, Seimei. We're enemies."

"Two sides of the same coin." Seimei corrected harshly. "We're so much _alike_ , Ritsuka, and yet those fools have you convinced that we aren't. Together, we could overthrow Septimal Moon ourselves, but you'd rather _join_ them. Think about it, Ritsuka. The Aoyagi brothers, controlling our world and smashing the Civilian world around it. Think of the possibilities…if you only let yourself. We're strong, we're not like other Sacrifices. We can fight for ourselves, yet we choose not to because having a partner is so much easier."

"Save your monologue for a time when its needed." Ritsuka shoved him away. "Here's a hint; it never will be."

"Your words sting, little brother." Seimei sighed. "You want to stop these people, you need to find out who they're working with…working for. I have information regarding known enemies of Septimal Moon. As the leader of the underground, as far as I'm concerned, it's best to know who I can and can't count on in this world when the time comes. I can't give you exact names of who's involved in this, since I don't know. But I can give you a heading." He turned away. "Ask Chouma for a list. She's the one that let you in. Akame and his little boy toy are too busy to be of any service, but if you see them before you go, let Akame know I'm going to throttle him."

"I won't pass on your word, but I thank you for your…unorthodox assistance."

Seimei nodded. "The sentiment is returned. Best of luck, I suppose. Just…don't take my generosity as weakness, and don't screw up my potential coconspirators…understand?"

"Anonymity is my best weapon."

Seimei didn't say anything, just sat down and slipped on his glasses to get back to reading the papers he'd temporarily abandoned. Ritsuka took that as his signal to get lost. His brother's words ringing in his ears, he stepped out of the room and shut the door. When he turned, Nisei was behind him. Ritsuka jumped slightly in surprise at seeing the disheveled Fighter standing behind him. Nisei smirked, pushing hair behind his ear.

"Jumpy, are we?" He handed a slip of paper to Ritsuka. "Seimei wanted you to have this. His list."

"He…told me to get that from Chouma…" Ritsuka informed, gingerly taking the paper.

"She stepped out." Nisei inched around him, opening the door to the study.

Ritsuka tried to ignore the slap he heard come from inside the room once Seimei noticed his Fighter was around and casually strolled back towards the TV room to gather his friends. Mimuro was inside the room with them, munching on cake while they watched some woman scream at a guy about how he was the father of her child. Zero was laughing, offering their opinions and teasing the woman based on her outfit, though they couldn't be heard. Ritsuka shook his head at the strange scene and cleared his throat.

Mid bite of his food, Mimuro turned with the twins to see who had interrupted them.

"Hey, Aoyagi." Mimuro greeted, swallowing what was in his mouth.

"How'd it go?" Yoji wondered.

"I got what I needed." Ritsuka replied simply. "Let's go."

"Chouma sends her regards." Mimuro stood. "But she went out shopping with Bloodless."

"Good to know." Ritsuka replied.

"So, we can get going? He didn't try any crap?" Natsuo wondered.

"No, nothing. Just monologuing."

"That's his specialty. I normally just tune him out." Mimuro went back to eating.

"Sometimes I wish I could." Ritsuka paused. "Your boyfriend's in trouble."

"We're not together."

"They're just having sex." Natsuo offered.

Mimuro glared. "To be technical…yeah…"

Yoji chuckled.

"Come on, let's get going." Ritsuka told the twins, looking over the list.

It was at least three pages long, stapled together with a hot pink staple. Something was written on it in English in hot pink pen as well, but he didn't care to try and translate it. That could wait until he was home with Soubi to go through the list.

"Oh, come on. We were just about to find out who the father really is." Yoji groaned.

Ritsuka just stared. Natsuo smacked his partner.

"We shouldn't be here any longer than we have to. Mr. Unstable in the other room might consider that a declaration of war or something equally moronic." He told the mint haired teen.

"Fine." Yoji groaned, sliding off the couch.

The twins followed Ritsuka to the door and they left together. Outside, Yoji took the paper from the other.

"What's this?" He asked.

"Seimei gave me a list of anti-Septimal Moon people he knows. He thinks one of them could be in charge of Flightless." Ritsuka informed.

"So, he doesn't think they're working alone." Natsuo commented, looking at the paper over Yoji's shoulder.

"It makes sense, I suppose. They had to have someone that knew about Flightless to know who they were and how to copy them." Ritsuka commented. "Their targets were chosen for a reason. But what reason, I'm not sure."

"Makes sense." Yoji agreed.

Ritsuka's phone rang, but the caller ID was an unknown number. He answered. "Aoyagi…?" He greeted.

"Put me on speaker." Mimuro's voice ordered.

He did as told. "What is it?" Ritsuka wondered.

"He wasn't the father."

"I knew it!" Yoji exclaimed as the phone call ended.

"That…was a colossal waste of my time." Ritsuka pinched the bridge of his nose. "Come on, we've got that list to go through."

"We're not telling Mikado, are we?" Yoji cocked an eyebrow. "You know she'd take this and execute everyone on it…even with our standing _don't do anything_ orders…"

Ritsuka nodded. "I know. I hate to say it, but out of good faith to Seimei, we can't do anything even if we didn't have the orders. He wants his army."

"And we're going to give him the chance to make one?" Natsuo shook his head. "I get he's your brother and you don't want to piss him off so he won't help us again, but…"

"I'm not comfortable with it either, but you both know I'm right."

They began to leave.

"Right or wrong, I can't help but feeling like we're failing as Executioners." Natsuo folded his hands behind his head.

Ritsuka opened the gate and let the twins go before him.

"The only way we fail is when we give up."


	28. Mother Knows More Than She Lets On

Dlbn: Hello everyone. Sorry for the long hiatus. September is a really hard month for me emotionally (aunt's birthday, her passing, my cousin's wedding I wasn't invited to because my cousin's fiancé hates me but now they've broken up so joke's on him) so I haven't had time or energy to do anything. Plus I had my implant in my arm changed out so my left arm was kind of useless for a while and I was bummed about it.

Nbld: But we're back with a vengeance and ready to roll again. Review Corner! Thank you to The DarkCat and Promocat for reviewing chapter 26 and a bunch of guests for reviewing chapter one! Candy for you all!

The DarkCat: Hope your first day was okay outside of the stress! And that the days since have been less stressful. I miss college lol Seimei will say anything to win Ritsuka over, unfortunately, so there's no way to tell whether or not he's sincere. Thanks! I can't see Flightless working on their own to come up with all this (I guess you'd refer to it as the bigger picture, bigger plan). It just means there's a bigger threat out there than anyone was thinking of to begin with. One of your roommates saw Loveless? Sweet! Not enough people know about it unfortunately. When I called the bookstore to reserve my copy and the employee knew Loveless and had a small discussion with me about it, I squealed when I got off the phone and was glad my coworkers weren't there to see ^^" Mimuro is one of my favorite side characters. He gets too little credit.

Promocat: Zero wears how they feel/think on the edge of their sleeve; what you see is what you get. So he always knows when they're just messing with him, unlike with Septimal Moon and Seimei where he never really knows. It's a nice break, like dealing with Yuiko and Yayoi, since they're also both open and honest people.

Guests: I can't really tell what you're all saying, but I think you're saying very nice. Thank you for the reviews!

Disclaimer: Loveless is owned by Yun Kouga. I'm just a fangirl who owns all the manga, three copies of the anime (original Japanese only release, and Vocal Collection release with both Japanese and English audio), and some swag, and cosplays both Ritsuka and Yoji. I do own the non-canon OC characters, though. I make NO money off writing this.

Dedication: The 13th was my aunt's birthday and 21st was the two year anniversary of her passing, the day I lost my last living parent. Though you never knew of my passion for writing fanfics (though you did ask a lot what the hell I was writing all the time), this chapter is for you, Moo.

Dedication 2: I didn't get to post around your birthdays, but happy late birthday to my godsons Tucker and Jaiyden, and nephew Gabe. Had a ton of fun with my god-boys and their mom (my best friend) for their joint party earlier in the month. Gabe we have yet to celebrate because of reasons. So for now, though you'll likely never read this, this is my gift to all three of you.

000

Ritsuka looked over the list with Soubi later that night. The English paragraph, which Soubi translated for him, was just an offer of comradery from his brother and an apology from Chouma for leaving without saying goodbye. It wasn't important, so they'd gone right to looking through the list.

"Space…" Ritsuka struck them off the list. "Eliminated a month ago by Moonless herself…Callous…"

"A possibility." Soubi informed. "Their attacks cut deep, and their personalities themselves leave a lot to be desired."

Ritsuka circled the name. "Hollow…where the hell do some of these names come from?"

"I don't know, but circle them. I think I went to school with the Sacrifice…"

He nodded. "That's the end of page two." He turned the page. "We have over a dozen chosen already, and there's still more to go." He groaned.

Soubi took the packet. "Let me go through a few on my own and give you a break; you need it."

"Thank you." Ritsuka rubbed his eyes. "I hope this isn't pointless. After all, what if its someone not on the list?"

"Anyone you can think of?"

"The point of being underground is to stay hidden. Why would Seimei give me a list unless he's certain these are people that won't be involved and is just wasting my time?" Ritsuka mused aloud, walking around to pace and get feelings back into his legs. "Or he's just having us eliminate his rivals?"

"There's no one that rivals your brother in terms of strength, nor charisma. He could make enemies out of Septimal Moon's allies if he really tried to." Soubi informed. "And as far as getting rid of his rivals goes, he could do it himself."

"But place the blame on us." Ritsuka paused. "I hate to admit it, but I'm a little concerned he's involved in this somehow…how would he think someone was in charge of these people unless he _knew_? Hacking into our information is one thing, but making inferences from what we have alone…"

"I doubt he's involved. He has his pawns, yes, but I doubt he'd do anything that would bring him into the light that easily…like leaving a victim's body at your school."

"He did it before…he can do it again."

Soubi nodded, crossing off a few names and circling another two. "Some of these are old enemies Septimal Moon already checked out when this all began. Others are ones we looked into years ago when Seimei was an Executioner, but they're too far away to be of any trouble now."

Ritsuka nodded. "I think we've got a decent enough list. Zero won't report to Moonless about the list, and we're following the same rules."

"We don't need her causing trouble with Seimei's allies and ruining our temporary peace with him."

"My thoughts exactly." Ritsuka confirmed. "I guess we should start tracking people down tomorrow…"

"You're out at noon, no?"

"Saturday's a half day, yes." Ritsuka confirmed. "Pick Zero and I up. We'll split the list in two and go hunting."

"As you wish."

"You'd better get going…I don't want mom to come home and freak out." Ritsuka looked at the clock. "She'll be home in a half hour."

"Can I leave through the front door, or shall I exit via the balcony again?"

"It seems weird to break tradition and make you use a _door_."

Soubi chuckled. "I suppose so." He kissed the neko on the forehead. "Try not to stay up too late. You'll need your energy if you plan on hunting after class. Might be an all-day affair."

"Don't remind me." Ritsuka complained. "I'm just going to take a bath and go to bed."

"And I don't get to join you? Shame."

"Even if you joined me, its not like you'd _do_ anything about it." His tail puffed in annoyance.

Soubi chuckled. "One day, kitten. I promise."

"You keep saying that, but…you know what? I'm not going to even debate this." Ritsuka shook his head. "Just…make good on your promise one day…would you…?"

"I always keep my promises to you." Soubi held his face in his hands. "Sukidayo."

"Sukidayo."

The blond leaned in closer and pressed their lips together, eliciting a contented sigh to slip from Ritsuka's lips. The neko grabbed him by the biceps and pulled him closer. Soubi let him go.

"I'll see you tomorrow, my love."

"Yeah…tomorrow…"

Head still a little dizzy, Ritsuka let the elder go and walked him to the balcony. Soubi unlocked the doors and opened them, letting cool air waft over the room. Ritsuka shivered slightly, making Soubi pull him in for a hug and a kiss on the temple.

"Lock up after I leave."

"I always do." Ritsuka confirmed.

Soubi pecked him on the nose before walking to the end of the balcony and flipping over the railing, latching onto the lattice below. Ritsuka leaned over the balcony and watched him go. At the bottom, Soubi gave a little wave as he walked, lighting up a cigarette for the walk home. It took some time for the blond to learn not to smoke in or around the house, but he'd finally started getting the idea when Ritsuka said his mother had smelled it but chalked it up to a neighbor. Ritsuka sighed, watching until he couldn't see the other anymore. Lights from a car started coming down the road, so he ducked back inside and locked up, pushing his curtains to cover the doorway. He stretched, leaving for the bathroom. He heard the front door open and rushed into the bathroom. He was about to start running the bath when someone knocked on the door.

"Ritsuka?" His mother greeted. "Is that you?"

He gulped. "Y-Yes, mother." He responded. "I was just going to bathe before bed…"

"Okay…" She paused. "See me downstairs when you're done…"

"O-Okay…"

Great. What did she have planned for him now? Running his bath, Ritsuka couldn't help but run a thousand scenarios through his mind. He stripped slowly, catching sight of his name in the mirror. He froze, running his fingers over the slightly raised skin. He always hated his name, but how it was so elegantly written on his side, like a henna in beautiful English script, made it seem less of a hassle. _Loveless_. He knew, without a doubt, that whoever designed these names, was some kind of a prankster. After all, with Soubi around, he'd never be _Loveless_. Not even once.

000

His mother was sipping from a cup of steaming liquid when he got to the kitchen. Dried off from head to toe and wearing his favorite blue striped pajamas, Ritsuka froze in the doorway at the sight of the somewhat normal scene. Normal wasn't something this family was used to anymore, not since he lost his memories and then Seimei 'died' all those years ago. His mother looked up from the cup, staring at him with eyes that were actually focused for once. He could vividly remember the madness in her eyes when she'd attack him for eating the wrong thing or doing something he wouldn't have done before his memory loss. Now that some of his memories were back and he was falling into line with his name again, she'd backed off and started seeing him as who he was before. He was thankful for that and wished he could take credit, but he couldn't help but think it was the medicines constantly shoved down her throat that finally did the trick after so long. She still had times where she'd go into psychotic fits and attack him, but now that her old high school friends were back in the picture, she'd calmed down a little.

"Sit." She ordered.

He did as told so she wouldn't lose her temper. She was like a radio station set on scan; unpredictable and changing right in the middle of a song when you'd least expect it.

"I have friends coming tomorrow night…" She began.

Okay, so she probably just wanted him out of the house.

"I need this house clean…stay at a friend's for the night if you want…but I don't want to see you around while they're here, understood?"

"Yes, mother." He nodded his agreement. "What time do I need to be gone by?"

"Just don't come home after school if you can help it…or at least don't make it a long stop if you do…get your overnight stuff or something and then get out."

"Yes, mother."

Didn't her friends know she had kids? Or was she that worried that seeing his face would make her go into attack mode while they were around? Either way, at least she was giving him warning instead of just losing it when he got home and her friends were there.

"If you stay at your boyfriend's, you better come home with your ears…understood…?"

"Yes, m…wait, what?" Ritsuka blinked in surprise. "You…you knew…?"

"What kind of mother doesn't know about her son's romantic involvements…?" She glared at him. "I can't say I approve of someone so much…older…but that's not my problem. You get burned in the end, that's on you."

Gee, how caring.

"Y-Yes, mother…"

"I'm not going to go to the police…but if _those_ don't come back with you," she pointed at his ears, "I _will_."

"He'd never do anything like that to me." _Trust me, I've begged him to. Multiple times._ "I'll come back with my ears; I promise."

He could see anger popping into her when he argued, but she fought it back, cringing and tilting her head to the side.

"Good." She stood. "Oh, and your father filed for divorce."

She left, leaving Ritsuka to stare at her in disbelief. Who ended a conversation like that? Not that he couldn't have seen that coming a mile away, since he'd seen his father with the woman he'd left for a few times and they seemed pretty happy. He was pretty sure she had a ring on her finger, but it might have just been his imagination. He waited until he heard his mother's door slam shut. He could hear her crying as he walked past the room to the stairs. He knew he should try and comfort her, but that would more likely only send her into a fit he'd have to deal with and leave him with bruises to have to explain to his friends tomorrow. He wasn't about to put up with that headache. He locked his bedroom door and flopped onto the bed. So his mother knew about Soubi. He wasn't sure whether it was comforting knowing he wouldn't have to sneak around with him so much, or frightening that his mother knew more about him than he thought. As he drifted off to sleep, he couldn't help wonder what _else_ she'd figured out about him that she wasn't telling.


	29. Preparing For A Long Search

Dlbn: Another chapter is no the way! I know its been a while. I thought I posted further in and had more to write, but inspiration refused to come. I realized I have enough for a couple more chapters.

Nbld: Dumbass. Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat, The DarkCat, and halbarath for reviewing! Candy for you all!

Promocat: I think she has some of her own personal demons she needs to handle, but she does show a bit of remorse in the manga. As far as he's concerned, he's only stuck with this hell for a couple more years, then he can get out and live with Soubi. He'd never voice that aloud though.

The DarkCat: thank you. They need their fluff after all the angst they get everywhere else *cough* in the manga and anime *cough*. And some of my own works :x I think she's got things to work through but deep down she knows he's her Ritsuka and doesn't really want to hurt him. She clearly needs help. She's probably seen him around with/without Ritsuka a few times, too. They're together so often, they can't just be lucky enough to never be seen together. There's a bit of sadness going around, between his father filing for divorce and other situations at hand.

Halbarath: Eventually I'll reveal whatever else she knows.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and some OCs. Everything canon belongs to Yun Kouga and therefore is not owned by me. I make NO money off writing this.

000

Once school let out, Ritsuka and Zero met Soubi outside the school gates. Yuiko and Yayoi trailed behind them, talking about a project they were working on together in one of their classes.

"Hey, blondie." Yoji greeted, taking a list from his hand without asking. "Hunting tonight?"

Soubi nodded. "As Ritsuka requested."

Natsuo looked over the list with Yoji. "How are some of these even actual _names_?" He crinkled his nose. "Are we sure they're not just crazy, made-up aliases? Your brother's crazy enough to have even crazier people to call on when he needs help…"

"They're real names." Soubi informed. "I had Seven do some research last night for us so we're not just wasting our time. I took the liberty of crossing off a few that I hadn't known were deceased until she looked into it."

They quieted down once Yuiko and Yayoi stopped talking.

"Oh, hello, Soubi-san." Yuiko greeted with a little grin. "Nice to see you again!"

"Just Soubi is fine." He corrected her. "Good to see you two as well."

Yayoi smiled slightly, adjusting his glasses. "You're probably busy so we're going to get going…Yuiko and I have to go to the library and get some of this English project done."

"Yuiko hates English…" The pinkette complained. "She's not very good…"

"She's not very good at Japanese either…" Yoji muttered in English, making Natsuo snicker and Soubi elbow him.

Ritsuka just rolled his eyes. "I'm sure you'll get it eventually, Yuiko. Everyone struggles with at least one thing in school."

"Take these two, for example. Clearly struggling at basic human interaction." Soubi motioned to the twins, who glared at him in unison.

"Ex _cuse_ you?" Yoji wondered as Yuiko giggled.

"He's not wrong, you know." Ritsuka commented.

Yoji glared at him this time.

"Well, we'll leave you guys to whatever it is you're going to be doing." Yayoi stated. "The library closes early today."

"Oh no! Bye boys! We should go!" Yuiko took Yayoi by the hand. "Come on!"

"Y-Yuiko…!"

Ritsuka and the others watched with mild amusement as the pinkette dragged her obviously much shorter friend after her down the road. Ritsuka was first to shake out of it and looked at his list.

"Four possibilities." He stated aloud.

"Same." Yoji and Natsuo answered.

"Time to do some recon." Ritsuka said. "Come on, Soubi."

"Coming."

"Not if his ears are real, you're not!" Yoji shouted after them.

Ritsuka glared as Soubi gave him the finger, making the teen laugh. "We've got to go get my overnight bag from the house quick before we go working, alright?"

"Ah, yes, your mother's warning…if she knows about me…is there a reason for me to hide anymore…?"

"If her friends are around, maybe. She doesn't care about our age gap, but they might. I don't know them all that well."

Soubi nodded. "I'll wait at the end of the road. Call if you need me."

"I will."

000

Ritsuka was about to get off the staircase and leave the house when the doorbell rang. He froze. Maybe he should go out the back door, or through the balcony. He didn't have time to choose as his mother exited her room and glared.

"If you're here, be useful and answer the door…" She ordered. "Then you can leave through it."

He nodded. "Yes, mother, of course." He gathered himself and did as told, feeling her eyes bore holes in his back even through the walls.

The neko put on his best smile and opened the door. A trio of women were behind it. One was about to press the doorbell again, but her pink painted lips curled into a nervous smile when she realized the door had opened.

"Good afternoon." Ritsuka greeted. "My mother is in the other room; she'll be out in a moment."

"Aw, you're not staying?" The one who almost rang the doorbell again wondered. "Such a shame."

"I'm going to a friend's to work on a project. They invited me to stay overnight." Ritsuka informed them. "I wish I could stay, but the project is due Monday and we have a lot to work on."

"Well, maybe next time, then." Another woman stated, giving him a polite grin.

"Sounds wonderful." He held the door open so the three of them could enter.

"Thank you!" The last lady told him as he shut the door behind them.

Ritsuka sighed, slouching slightly in relief. That was a close one. Hopefully his mother wouldn't freak out on him later for that one. He met Soubi at the end of the street.

"Any problems?" Soubi asked. "You look as though you've seen a ghost."

"I met mom's friends. I was leaving when they got there. Hopefully she isn't too mad at me."

"Or forgets by the time you get home tomorrow."

"My mother's like an elephant; she remembers everything." Ritsuka sighed. "Everything that will get me into trouble, anyway." He shook it off. "I'm not going to hang around and feel sorry for myself. Let's drop my stuff at your place and get to work. The Sacrifice of one of the Units works at a café close to your place. We can start there."

"Hai." Soubi nodded.

He only hoped this vague, wild goose chase, would be worth it in the end.


	30. Visions of A Grim Reality

Dlbn: Here we are with another update! While working on our Loveless Halloween fic, I decided to try and update this (and other continuing stories I have on here) as well. I won't update again next time I update the Halloween one, but I will the following update.

Nbld: Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Pumpkins for you both!

Promocat: We do need that every now and then. For me, I have my boss (who's also my neighbor so its not THAT weird). It seems in the manga she was sheltered a lot (read; abused, thanks Yoji) and that probably had an impact on her future behavior.

The DarkCat: Yuiko needs to realize how much Yayoi cares about her and give up on Ritsuka already. He's already taken, girl, and by another man! Zero don't seem to have been socialized properly before they met Soubi and Ritsuka, and it doesn't appear that they went to school in a traditional sense either, sine they were afraid of being bullied in the manga (though I think it was Yoji who said they'd just bully the bullies back). Glad you enjoyed More Soubi/Ritsuka solo time, coming up!

Disclaimer; I own nothing but the plot and various Units you'll see throughout. I make NO money off writing this. Everything canon belongs to Yun Kouga.

Dedication: To my pet mouse, Thousand Sunny. My son let her and her sisters out of the cage months ago, and I finally managed to catch her. How? She was in my trashcan when I threw something out. My son is excited to have her back, and she loves her new wheel and lookout attachments for her cage. Now to find and capture the other two!

Dedication 2: To my boyfriend, who just returned from a four day drill out of state. We missed you! Happy (slightly late) two months!

000

The Sacrifice was not happy to see them at her shop when Ritsuka and Soubi sat down to wait for a waitress. Unfortunately, she was that waitress. She sidled up to them, barely grinning with obviously gritted teeth.

"Welcome to Café Mina." She greeted. "How can I help you…Executioner…?"

Ritsuka's ears perked, surprised that she would call him that in public. He was too surprised to speak but, luckily, Soubi jumped in.

"So, you know who we are." He greeted.

She nodded. "I recognize your aura, and you look like your brother…" She looked Ritsuka up and down. "If he sent you to talk to me on his behalf; forget it. I won't join him." She hugged her notepad close. "I'm alone; I'm of no use to him."

"Then your Fighter…?" Ritsuka wondered slowly.

"Executed by your boss a few years back." She cleared her throat. "I was not involved with the shit he did, but it wasn't pretty; I can tell you that at least. Anything more you can get from her…you _are_ here on his behalf…no?"

"I am not affiliated with my elder brother." Ritsuka informed her. "We have a fragile, temporary truce, but that's it…you spoke with him?"

"He wants to overthrow your organization…I'm surprised you didn't know."

"Oh, I did. He just failed to mention that he _spoke_ to you…"

"I see." She nodded. "You're…investigating the murders, right...?"

He nodded slowly, seeing her shell start to crack now that she knew he wasn't bothering her on his brother's behalf.

"I don't know anything, so if that's what you're here for…"

"We're looking for information, yes." He nodded. "Other than my brother, for obvious reasons, do you know of anyone else recruiting enemies of Septimal Moon?"

"You think there's a group behind this, then." She informed. "I haven't heard anything, but I've been out of the game for a while. I'm surprised you _or_ your brother found me. I retired when my Fighter was taken from me. They offered me a blank, but I refused. There's only one for me." She gingerly touched something tattooed on her chest just out of view from her open neckline.

"I share the sentiment." Ritsuka responded, making Soubi flush.

She nodded. "You're going to have to look elsewhere. Your brother is a good place to start, but considering that you found me, I'm pretty sure you've already spoken to him."

"Of course." Ritsuka replied. "We've been asked not to compromise his chances…"

"Hon, there's no _chances_ with me. _Eternal_ described my bond with my Fighter. Not with outsiders." She stated. "I have no desire to get involved in your brother's stupid rush for power. If anything, he's using you to eliminate _his_ competition."

"I wouldn't be surprised." Soubi muttered.

"If that's all, would you like to order?" She tapped her pen on her hip. "My boss is going to be pissed if I talk to you this long and it's not about the specials."

"Bring me one of the specials." Ritsuka told her. "We've got your back."

She nodded and wrote on her pad. "And for you?"

"Just a cup of chamomile, please."

"You're so predictable." Ritsuka complained.

Soubi gave him a flirtatious wink.

"I'll be back with your orders shortly." She bowed slightly and left.

"Okay, target one was a waste of time." Ritsuka scribbled next to her name about her fighter and unwillingness to cooperate with Seimei, let alone any other uprisings.

Soubi nodded. "Hopefully none of these others end up the same way. Ritsuka had a feeling that they were and that by the end of the day, they'd be right back where they started.

000

The next two targets hadn't had any information to share, just that both of their other halves were gone thanks to Septimal Moon's previous bullshit. Ritsuka felt a little let down as he wandered around central square in the park with Soubi that night. Their last target they'd tracked down there, but it appeared as if the Unit was whole. He was concerned that they'd just be the Unit he was looking for in disguise to cause trouble, but he shook it off. If Seimei had any inkling or fear that the mysterious Unit was hiding amongst his possible allies, he wouldn't have sent Ritsuka out to find them. That's what the neko kept telling himself, anyway. Despite all Seimei's shortcomings and atrocious behaviors, the younger still believe his brother would never do anything to harm him; that deep down there was _some_ speck of good that knew right from wrong. He others said he was delusional, he knew, but he couldn't accept the idea that anything Seimei had done had been in malicious intent towards him. Towards Septimal Moon and the school, maybe but not him. The third Unit they started tracking down was proving hard to pin down. Neither had been at their respective places of employment, and their home appeared vacant as well. Without any ideas into their hobbies or hangout spots, finding them would prove to be difficult if they didn't do another stakeout. Ritsuka had a feeling they'd been warned by other people they'd spoken to and were in hiding, but he had nothing to prove that. Soubi had offered to take a break from searching so they could regroup with themselves, but the idea didn't sit well with him. The Sacrifice had a feeling that if they balked and took a break, they'd somehow miss them. The more rational part of his mind told him to sit before he wore himself out and became useless just in case they had to fight anyone. Soubi finally had to force him to sit on a bus stop bench.

"Breathe." Soubi ordered gently.

Ritsuka took a deep breath and sighed on the exhale. "This is ridiculous, Soubi…for all we know, my brother's intel is faulty at best, and yet we're following it…"

"Maybe we should look for the final Unit instead. Give ourselves a break."

Ritsuka glared. "And go in the complete opposite direction…?"

"Retrace our steps. Perhaps we'll find something we hadn't earlier."

"Or I could save you time." Ritsuka heard a voice greet before he felt a power signature wash over him.

Ritsuka stood, Soubi standing slightly behind him like a bodyguard. In front of him stood two young men around Seimei's age.

"Despair." Ritsuka greeted.

The younger looking one shrugged sheepishly. "We heard you were looking for us, Aoyagi…"

"What do we owe the pleasure?" Green eyes narrowed as he spoke.

"I'm investigating the Tamed murders…"

"And? What does that have to do with us?" The younger one seemed offended.

"Kie, enough." The green eyed one barked an order. "Though he has a point…we have nothing to do with that…"

"No, but perhaps you've heard of another Unit we're looking for…" Ritsuka informed. "Able to perfectly transform themselves into another Unit…"

The males shared a look.

"And why share that information with you?" Kie asked.

"We don't want to have to fight." Soubi informed politely. "It's just a simple question. Have you heard of them?"

"No." The Sacrifice answered.

"I don't think you're giving me the full truth…" Ritsuka folded his arms over his chest. "How about a Unit named Flightless?"

Kie cocked an eyebrow. "The old Execution squad?" He wondered. "Aren't they dead?"

"This new unit is pretending to be them…causing trouble."

"Ah, they're your suspects, you mean!" The Sacrifice laughed. "Ah, I'm afraid we don't know anything about this other unit…but I _have_ heard rumors that they were back…to think that they were another Unit just _faking it_." He gave an obviously fake shudder. "Scary."

Ritsuka didn't even have to look at Soubi or use their bond to know that the same incredulous look was gracing his features as well.

"You're just playing with me, then." Ritsuka scoffed. "Guess I should have known I wouldn't get anything from an insignificant Unit no one's heard of in a few years…"

"Ex _cuse_ you?" The Sacrifice growled.

"Haji, don't." Kie whispered. "He's an Executioner…"

"And a child."

"A teenager, actually." Soubi corrected.

"And I'm not fond of the idea of going into a fight with _him_ either…you don't know the rumors..."

"Rumors concerning _me_?" Soubi seemed surprised. "Whatever could you be talking about…?"

"Everyone knows you used to be Beloved's dog…" Haji seemed to be getting bolder now. "Any fight with you ends in…you know…" He slid his finger across his neck.

Soubi blushed. "Ah, my days of serving Seimei are over…" He nodded to indicate Ritsuka. "As you can see, that's no longer…"

"Enough, Soubi. You have nothing to justify. Everyone knows how my brother is…I'm surprised his allies would be afraid of you, however…"

"Allies?" Kei laughed. "We have nothing to do with Aoyagi…he wanted us to help him, but no one wants _that_ death sentence…"

"Everyone knows what happens when you piss off Septimal Moon." Haji huffed. "No one would willingly join Aoyagi unless they wanted to die or were as crazy as he is. And newsflash, we're neither."

"You got our names from him, I'm guessing?" Kei wondered. "He didn't ask you to try and recruit us…?"

"Of course not." Ritsuka replied.

"To which question?"

"I think you know."

The Unit shared a look.

"This false Flightless…they _do_ have a death wish. They not only killed the Fighter of Tamed, but slaughtered an entire Unit connected to him." Ritsuka informed. "Anyone aiding and abetting them will face justice at _our_ hands; not the police's. They couldn't possibly know the things we do, obviously. Justice is ours to hand down. Mine." His eyes glinted. "If you know anything and continue to lie to us about it, you're just as guilty."

"If you want to know anything we know…" Haji paused. "A battle."

"Haji!"

He held up his hand. "Enough, Kie." He stated. "You heard me. A fight for information. I'm not pissing off anyone by telling you a damn thing."

Inadvertently admitting there was someone else behind all this to stay on Ritsuka's good side, but not directly saying it to stay on that person's good side as well. Starting a fight to make it seem like he was forced to give out the information as well. Well done.

"Alright, fine." Ritsuka stated. "Soubi, you heard the man."

Soubi cocked an eyebrow, but Ritsuka felt the air prickle with their battle signature anyway.

"We declare battle by word spell." Soubi announced. "Loveless."

"We accept." Kei muttered. "Despair."

Colors swirled around the two Units, effectively sealing them off from the rest of the world for their battle. Ritsuka had always been amused that somehow their fights went unnoticed, but now that he paid more attention, he realized they were practically on another plane of existence for battles; one where spells could be brought to life. He was so mesmerized by the new world around him, that he hadn't realized their battle had even began until Soubi kissed him. He gently kissed back, forcing as much of his own power into the kiss as he could to help his Fighter power up. He'd learned long ago that it wasn't the ability and strength of a Fighter or Sacrifice that mattered, but the strength of the bond between both members of the Unit.

"Alright, enough with the romanticism." Kei ordered. "We're here to battle, not watch you two go at it."

"Just fight, Kei…" Haji informed, picking his nails. "Quicker this is over, quicker we can go home, and they can get back to their _pointless_ search…if they bother to come up for air first…"

"Mock us all you want." Ritsuka ordered. "That won't change the fact that at the end of this, we'll be walking away with that information."

Haji seemed annoyed by that, but it was unsurprisingly Kei that fought back.

" _Ice pierce the skin and freeze the blood. Damage is a thousand_!" Kei called out.

Soubi was quick to answer. " _ **Flames consume the ice and reduce it to basic form. Damage is nullified**_."

Ice and flames attacked one another at roughly the same time, Soubi's red hot flames shooting out only moments after Kei's frigid ice shards. There was a crackle like thunder, and suddenly the shards melted away to water, destroying the flame and soaking thee Unit. Ritsuka ran a hand through his now wet hair, irritated.

"Really?" He asked.

"Well, I did nullify the damage." Soubi gave a sheepish grin.

"Pathetic." Kei snorted. "You're all talk, Loveless, I've noticed that in the brief time we've been conversing. However, we are not merely gabbing about. By the time we are through, you will be swallowed up by a despair so deep, it will leave you tormented for days." He seemed like he was reading off a script or just repeating something out of a bad RPG. " _Hopeless nightmares penetrate the mind. Show Loveless true despair_!"

" _ **Dreamcatcher, appear. Block the nightmares from entering our psyches. Render Despair's attack useless**_."

" _Flames consume the dreamcatcher and render it useless! Dreams shall penetrate, despair shall win in the end!_ "

A restriction slapped itself around Ritsuka's wrists, thick chains attached to thick cuffs that attached him to the ground of the battle area. He cried out as they pulled him down to his knees and heard Soubi call his name. His eyes slipped closed against his will and scenes played out in front of his eyes. Scenes of uprising, Units marching through Gora and Seven Voices Academy to confront Septimal Moon. _His_ Septimal Moon, _his_ generation. Not flashbacks, but perhaps visions of the future. The scene switched to a man in dark hooded robes standing behind a podium. He couldn't tell the location, but it looked like a warehouse of some kind. He could hear the man speaking, but neither he nor the small group of people gathered to listen in seemed to notice when he called out to them.

"Septimal Moon shall fall." The man spoke, voice gruff. "These freaks of nature shall pay for their atrocities against humanity. We shall force them to stay their hand, force the Executioners to come to a standstill. No one will again suffer at the hands of tyranny. We will live in a new world, a free new world without magic or the ones controlling the powers they don't even completely understand." The people around him seemed to cheer and spur him no.

"Freaks!" One shouted.

"They must pay for what they've done!" Said another.

"My daughter was forced to flee the country because of these brutes!" A woman cried. "I want my daughter back! Take them down so she can return to me!"

Their shouts and battle cries whipped around him. Ritsuka sank to his knees as he stared at the scene, the words entering his mind from all angles and battering his psyche down. They started to swirl together in a strange chaos. His must have been what his mother felt before the medicines kicked in. Back when she was fully insane and seemed to have no hope of returning to her previous nature. It was maddening. Ritsuka gripped covered his ears, pressing his palms heavily against his ears to block out the sounds the best he could.

"Soubi!" He called. "Soubi, end this! End this battle!"

He wasn't sure if his soulmate could hear him or not, but he at least had to try. His bond ended about halfway through, the nightmares plaguing him somehow cutting off its contact to the man on the other end. He felt something seep into his chest. Not anger nor depression, not sadness nor fear. Just…nothingness.

His hands slowly fell from his head, not bothering to try and block out the voices anymore. What was the point in trying to hide from something he knew he couldn't escape? Unless Soubi somehow ended the battle outside this world, he would be stuck here…stuck with the voices and the madmen and women shouting them. As the visions changed and shifted again and again into new scenes, some including members of his family and his friends, he felt the feeling sinking deeper into him. All hope seemed to be lost. Yuiko…Yayoi…Taro…Taku…Kio and Akira…everyone he knew on the outside, everyone he cared for and loved…sensei and his therapist…every civilian he knew was in danger as long as these people-whoever they were-were dead set on ending Septimal Moon. After all, why not go after its members where they were weakest? His father had no Fighter, his mother wasn't a part of his world. They would suffer as well. His father's girlfriend and her child…all of them gone in a heartbeat and a snap of the fingers if these people got out of hand. Whoever they were, he'd never find them, he realized. All this searching was for nothing. He got leads and then lost them just as quickly. All he had were mysterious suspects that he couldn't pin down, who he could find as literally anyone they pleased to be; except themselves. What was the point in fighting a battle that couldn't be won?

He saw Kaji and his mother conversing, his stepfather giving him advice and teaching him to ride a bike. Ita and his wife and child, sitting together on the couch watching television while the baby slept. He saw Utena and her father playing catch and baking cookies in the kitchen. He saw Yoji and Natsuo pulling off their pranks, and Nagisa's shameless flirting with Ritsu that went ignored. He saw Mikado and Tokino cuddled together in front of a fire, reading over casework and laughing together at something he pointed out in a report. He saw Nana typing away furiously at her computer, and Nagisa attempting to interrupt. Asitai at his Fighter's bedside, waiting for him to wake up and throwing himself on top of the younger when he finally did. He saw Breathless drawing together and drinking cups of hot cider by a frozen lake. The female Zero at their wedding chapel, cuddling together as they looked at fabrics for the tables and gifts for the guests that they could make. Sleepless sitting together on a bench until the Fighter dropped to a knee to propose.

He saw Seimei and Akame conversing, Akame twirling a piece of Seimei's hair between his fingers as Mimuro watched on in a hurt silence. He saw Chouma laughing at the TV and gazing at photos on her cell phone of Kio locked in the cage Bloodless once held him in. Bloodless as Yurio finally kissed Hideki, only to be refused with a slap to the face and an argument ensuing. He saw two people he didn't recognize, though he presumed them to be Faceless, working on a computer and making coffee together.

No…this wasn't pointless…he was doing this to protect them. To protect his civilian friends and family to protect his Unit friends and the people he worked for. To protect his brother and gain justice for Kaji's untimely demise. He was going to find these murderers and bring them to justice for everyone hurt by the tragedy that befell the Fighter of Tamed and his lover and her Sacrifice. He had to drag Septimal Moon and the Executioners out of the muck, dust off and dry their names so that anyone in their world that crossed them one once again fear retribution. This wasn't _pointless_. Despair was making it seem so with their nightmares, their spell.

With this revelation, he was able to get up off the ground and stand, though his knees were shaking. He wrapped his arms around himself and stared full on at the onslaught of images he saw. Students whose paths he crossed at the Academy, people he knew in passing from school, people on the streets, those closest to him and people connected to him so distantly that even he wasn't certain why he was seeing them. Every last one attempting to show him what was going to be destroyed, but filling him with hope, with the urge to go on. A kick in the pants that was telling him that he _had_ to keep fighting the good fight. That he _had_ to find who killed Kaji and give his mother and Fighter some closure, to avenge him in the name of his students and others who begged him to find his killer.

"I will not be subjugated…" Ritsuka muttered. 'I will not be subjugated!"

As his power lashed out, the images shattered to darkness. He was vaguely aware of someone calling his name, but it wasn't Soubi. He did hear Soubi, however, barking orders at someone to wake him up and let him go. Ritsuka groaned, groggy as he opened his eyes and the world faded back into focus around him. Zero were both leaning over him, looking rather frightened for people who claimed to not feel anything.

"He's awake!" Yoji informed, scrambling out of the way so Soubi could take his place.

"Ritsuka, Ritsuka, can you hear me?" Soubi asked. "Are you alright?"

"You…" Ritsuka forced himself to roll over to see Haji and Kei, who were sitting next to the bench he had somehow found his way to laying on, backs together and restrictions around their wrists so they couldn't move. "What you showed me…"

"You saw it, didn't you, Loveless?" Haji wondered. "I'm glad…" He put his head down. "Don't let them win, Aoyagi…that's all I beg of you…what happens to Kei and I now is of no consequence…"

"Haji…you…" Kei didn't finish his sentence.

"Let them go…" Ritsuka coughed as Soubi helped him sit up.

"Are you insane? You've been out for a good half hour." Yoji huffed. "Anyone that asked we told you had fallen asleep waiting on a bus and we didn't want to wake you."

"Don't tell me…you were worried about me, Zero." Ritsuka laughed, flipping back to his back and rubbing his eyes with his palms. "You heard me, Soubi…let them go…"

"Hai…" Soubi answered, going over to do so. "But are you sure?" He paused.

"The nightmares they showed me…visions…of what I have to lose if we don't win this…" Ritsuka paused. "Someone out there is riling up people against Septimal Moon, against _us_ …if we don't stop them…"

"You're all as good as dead…we _all_ are." Haji informed. "These people…they don't just want to take down Septimal Moon and the Executioners. It's all of us…"

"They're not a Unit…it's just one man in charge, calling all the shots here…" Kei added. "He won't explain his grudges, but he's gathered people…Units…civilians…all people against Septimal Moon or the Executioners in one way or another…they're going to come after us."

"Why would he involve Units if he wants to end us?" Natsuo wondered. "Nice try."

"Civilians can't take us down on their own." Haji jumped to his Fighter's defense. "Once he gets what he needs out of them…he'll turn on them…"

"Who in the world could be so mad at us that they would go after anyone who controls word spell?" Natsuo wondered.

"Someone who saw something they shouldn't have and freaked out, probably." Yoji shrugged one shoulder.

While Zero and Despair argued back and forth about little points that didn't make much sense to be arguing about and probably didn't matter in the first place, Ritsuka lost himself in his own thoughts as he sat up slowly and leaned into Soubi.

"Someone who saw something they shouldn't have and freaked…" He muttered loud enough so that only Soubi could hear him over the others' bickering.

How Zero had found them and got there was beyond him, but the last thing on his mind. He had to figure this out. But Yoji's interference was making him think, and that was what counted.

"Someone who saw…"

 _He'd seen my Fighter use word spell and used his, thinking it was normal. Scared off his father._ Familiar words danced through his memory.

There was someone connected to all of this that _had_ seen something, and it freaked them out so badly that they abandoned their three-year-old-now deceased-son.

"It can't be…" Ritsuka said loud enough to cease the others' arguing.

"Can't be what?" Yoji wondered.

"Soubi…Hostile told us something that I think is a clue…what Yoji said…he's no wrong…we _do_ know someone who saw something they shouldn't have and freaked out over it."

"We do?" Soubi cocked an eyebrow.

Soubi, the now released Unit, and Zero all had their eyes trained on him.

"Kaji's father…"


	31. A Mother's Determination

Dlbn: We're back! I know this is a short chapter, but with all the attention going to my Halloween fanfic, I haven't had time to write, so this is where I had to stop.

Nbld: No excuses. We'll get back to this once the other one is done on the 31st. Review Corner! Thank you to The DarkCat and Promocat for reviewing! Candy and hot chocolate for you both!

The DarkCat: Hello again. The family dynamic with Hostile, Kaji, and his father is a complicated one. Just another notch in daddy dearest's coffin. Disappear for years and suddenly possibly resurface in a plot that ends with your son being killed? Can't get much more complicated then that. The inspiration for Despair actually came from the Danganronpa series, oddly enough. Even the name did ^^" If he didn't make a promise to the other students and Kaji's mother to solve this, he probably would give up. He's stronger than most give him credit for. All of the illusions are either Despair's handywork, or Ritsuka's own fears manifesting. I

The Seimei and Nisei one is mostly Ritsuka's perception. But in one of my personal timelines, it's more or less a possible future.

Glad you liked that line there, as well.

Promocat: Anyone who underestimates him is a complete idiot. He's got more strength in him. Between all he's been through and all he's currently going, he's learned to stand up for not only himself, but what he believes in and the people he cares about.

Disclaimer: I own Hostile, anyone non-canon, and the plot. Everything canon belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off this.

Dedication: With a heavy heart, I dedicate this to my little mouse I found the other day, Sunny. I woke up this morning and she wasn't moving. I tried to get her attention, but my boyfriend checked on her and she was deceased. RIP, I love you, little mouse.

000

Trying to reach Hostile had gotten him nowhere. Nana was looking for information about Kaji's father, but none of it had been mentioned to the school outside of his mother's Fighter-and Kaji's stepfather-who they knew from Hostile herself and his records was part of their world and had a good record; never causing trouble beyond what his name's nature made him do. The only tie they had to Kaji's father was Kaji himself, but he was deceased, and his DNA records Nana had gathered at autopsy hadn't linked to anything other than his mother. Either his father was super good at hiding, or he'd faked his death like Seimei. Ritsuka had confronted his brother the night before, but he insisted he knew nothing. Though Despair wasn't a huge fan of Septimal Moon or the Executioners and had publicly announced their disengagement from that world multiple times, they had been surprisingly helpful. Perhaps they were afraid for Units they knew, as well as themselves and their families, enough that they were willing to give up a group that would rather see them dead. Ritsuka was surprised to see Kei standing outside the school gates after school with Soubi. He and Zero shared a look and rushed out the doors to see what was going on.

"Everything alright…?" Ritsuka wondered.

"Haji isn't answering my calls. I think…something happened…" Kei informed sadly. "I didn't know what else to do…I hope you don't mind me making an appearance, but…we don't exactly have many allies…"

"It's alright." Ritsuka nodded once. "You tried your bond?"

"Nothing. It's not a dead end; I don't think he's dead, but I think _something_ happened. His roommates haven't seen him, neither has his girlfriend. His parents abandoned him when he started at the Academy, so I haven't gone to any of his family; I don't know them." Kei shook his head. "If he was gone, I'd feel it." He grabbed at his chest. "We picked on you two for showing affection in battle, but…when his girlfriend isn't around…" A slight smile hit his features before he put it away. "That doesn't leave us…"

"Depends on where you stand in the end." Yoji offered, folding his arms over his chest.

"Yoji." Ritsuka nudged him. "You know where the place I saw in my vision was? I couldn't have made that up based on information I have, because I don't have any information. Have you tried…?"

Kei shook his head. "I don't remember it." He informed. "It was a nondescript warehouse, but I think we were drugged before we got there and right before we left so we couldn't remember anything and rat them out…"

"Yeah, because anyone thinking you'd rescind your hatred of us and _help_ us is _beyond_ me." Natsuo stated. "You two are so complicated, I'm not sure whether or not either of you know up from down half the time."

"We've got nothing." Ritsuka huffed, ears flattening. "I can't even get a hold of Hostile…"

"You called?" A woman's voice wondered.

Hostile and her Fighter all but sauntered over to them from across the street.

"Good to see you again, Loveless." She greeted. "Yukito, my Fighter."

"A pleasure, Executioner." Yukito bowed. "Thank you for helping find out what happened to Kaji…it means a lot to us both, though she'd never tell you that." He winked.

She nudged him. "Don't _you_ go telling him sit, either, jackass." She complained. "What do you want?"

"Kaji's biological father…do you know where he might be?" Ritsuka asked.

"What? Why would that matter?" Her eyes widened. "You think he was…? Is wear to god, if that useless bastard touched a _hair_ on my son's head…"

"Tsumengi, enough." Yukito ordered with a sheepish grin. "Sorry…I'm afraid we don't know. She tried to find him for child support, but it appears as if he's just vanished off the face of the earth."

"As we thought…" Ritsuka tugged at his hair. "Can you think of anywhere important to him or you, or both, that he may use as a…hideout of sorts…?"

"Nothing I can think of." She denied. "We met at a club, but its abandoned now."

Abandoned building. Sounds about right.

"If I may…can you take us there…?"

She smirked. "Anything to avenge my son."


	32. More Like Melody's Curse

Dlbn: Hello everyone! Welcome to another chapter that's a long time coming! Got so caught up in my Halloween and Seimei's birthday fics that I had no time to work on this. But now I do, so here we go!

Nbld: Review corner! Thank you to Promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Cake for you both!

Promocat: Thank you. We had to put my dog down on the first too, so its been death all around. Poor kitty. I'm sorry for your loss. But you're right; it's never enough.

The DarkCat: I know it's been a while, but I hope everything is okay now, or at least getting better. Danganronpa is my second favorite game series (after Kingdom Hearts and then followed by Sly Cooper). I recommend the anime and the games. Can't go wrong with any of them! I'm hoping to get the manga soon, myself. Kaji's father is a mystery to everyone, including Hostile. Hopefully some things will clear up as we go. We're mostly done here. Just gotta keep plowing through. I didn't even know the name before but that's cool! I'm sorry for your lovely animal losses as well.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, Hostile, and Kei and Haji. Everything canon belongs to Yun Kouga and therefore is not mine. I make NO money off writing this.

Dedication: I could have waited until tomorrow, but I have the time free on my lunch break, so happy early birthday, Seimei! Your birthday fic will be up tomorrow ^^"

000

The club Hostile took them to looked like it had seen some better days. The outside was so dilapidated that it barely looked like anything other than a crudely put together child's fort. A sign that announced the club as _Melody's Call_ hung sideways from the rather useless awning. The windows were boarded up and the door looked ready to fall off its hinges, blocked off by yellow police caution tape. Ritsuka cocked an eyebrow at it as the streetlight next to the building flickered.

"This is…unique…" He informed.

"I told you it was a nondescript warehouse." Kei said, rubbing his arm.

"And I told you it was _abandoned_." Hostile snorted. "I met the bastard here two decades ago. It went out of business about a year or so later. Should have been my first hint that the relationship was shit and not meant to last…"

"You can say _that_ again." Natsuo snorted. "You're sure it was ever anything nice? I mean…"

"Look, kid, it was a seedy club that barely anyone went to, with cheap booze and a bartender that didn't ID." She folded her arms over her chest. "I was twenty-something and it pissed off my father that I came here. Cut me some slack."

"Someone was a rebel." Yukito snickered, nudging her.

She cracked a small smile through her annoyed shell, but it went away quickly.

"This is where he brought you, then?" Soubi leaned in close to the building and pulled back. "I don't sense anything coming from here or anything. Just a normal, abandoned building."

"We're looking for a civilian, blondie. You're not going to sense a thing, whether he's here or not." Yoji pointed out.

"But he _does_ bring Septimal Moon's enemies here, which are mostly units." Soubi stated. "If this was the place, I'd sense something."

"So, you think we've hit a dead end." Ritsuka observed.

"Just because you don't sense anything _now_ , it doesn't mean he didn't bring them before and just happens to not be here now." Hostile offered. "I still think we should look around inside…"

"Anything to find Haji…" Kei urged, nudging Soubi's shoulder a little. "Please…? For my own peace of mind?"

"We're not in the business of peace of mind, I'm sorry to inform you." Yoji pointed out.

"But if it gives us a chance to find some kind of clue to put us closer to solving this, I'm willing to take a chance." Ritsuka tapped his chin with a finger.

"We've got nothing better to do." Natsuo added. "And if we don't produce something soon, Mikado herself is going to come here and cause trouble. None of us want or need that."

"We see enough of her at meetings and the school." Yoji shuddered. "Let's go in, I guess."

Ritsuka nodded at Soubi. "Lead the way."

"As you wish." Soubi gently turned the door knob to the building, and it fell off in his hand as the door fell backwards with a sickening thud. "Oops…"

"Well done, Blondie. Now if anyone _was_ here, they know and are getting ready to fight. Fantastic." Yoji threw his hands up in the air.

Soubi stared blankly at the doorknob as the others eased their way around him and into the building. Ritsuka took the metal from his Fighter's hand and chucked it over his shoulder.

"Come on, Soubi, we're getting left behind."

He seemed to nap out of whatever was holding him and smiled. "Gomen."

"It's alright." Ritsuka took him by the hand and led him into the building.

The inside was as dark and dingy as the outside advertised. Cobwebs and dust were everywhere. A couple rats were in the corner nibbling on something, but they ran when they realized there were people nearby. Tables still sat in a lounge area with knocked over chairs covered in dust and God knew what else. There was a stage for a band with ripped up curtains and lighting fixtures that looked ready to topple at any moment. It looked like something out of a bad horror movie where a bunch of kids searched an abandoned building and returned home with a malevolent presence attached to them. The others were poking and prodding around the space. There were bathrooms on the far end, a door that led to the office on one side, and a door marked _kitchen_ on the other.

"I don't think we're going to find anything." Ritsuka pointed out. "I mean, it's worth a try, but…"

Soubi shrugged. "I don't sense any battle signatures, new or old, so I don't think anything bad has happened here. If this _is_ where he's bringing people to meet, he clearly didn't use the front door…"

Ritsuka giggled into his hand. "Then how would he get in? There's only a couple windows and they look dusty, but not broken into."

Soubi shrugged. "That's what I'm wondering, myself."

"This place has nothing." Yoji announced. "Only thing I'm getting from here is hepatitis."

"Maybe some drugs." Natsuo held up a plastic baggie as he exited the office. "Someone was into some shit."

Kei rolled his eyes. "At least we're trying…I can't find Haji anywhere…I need _something_ … _anything_ …"

"He wants reassurance his Sacrifice is still alive." Soubi whispered to Ritsuka. "I think he's given up."

"He said the bond doesn't just fizzle out, just hits a wall." Ritsuka stated. "Same thing happened when you blocked me from contacting you when you were planning that surprise party…"

Soubi flushed. It was Ritsuka's thirteenth birthday party, the first they'd had for him after officially presenting themselves as a couple. The surprise part had been Yoji's idea, and he'd let it slip when Ritsuka had been worried Soubi was just done with him and talked to the Sacrifice about it too many times. He was still sore about it.

"Sorry…" Soubi flushed. "It was all for naught, anyway…thanks to Zero…" He muttered.

Hostile climbed onto the stage and brushed some cobwebs from her face.

"Hey, take a look at this." She ordered.

The others joined her. "What is it, Hostile?" Ritsuka wondered.

"This area…there's not much here."

"Just like the rest of the place." Yukito pointed out.

"Well _yes_ , but I mean not much, _not much_."

"What in the world are you talking about?" Kei asked.

"No, I get it." Ritsuka put up a finger. "She's talking about a lack of dust and spiders. Everything in this room is covered in it, but this area of the stage isn't."

"So, either something that was here is missing, or something was ere and cleared out this particular spot. Big deal." Yoji argued.

"Yes, big deal." Ritsuka, with Soubi's help, joined the Hostile Sacrifice on the stage. "Why just this one spot? The rest of the stage is dusty, since Hostile had to move some cobwebs from that side to get here." Ritsuka nodded.

"There's something here." Kei boasted. "I knew it."

"Means nothing." Yoji stated. "Some kids probably broke in and stole something. That's no clue."

Ritsuka knelt and tapped on the floor with his knuckles. There was a hollow sound where he was knocking.

"An empty space." Hostile knelt with him and brushed her hand across the space. "Aha!" She grabbed at the floor and ripped up what appeared to be wallpaper that matched the stage floor. Under it was a shiny brass door handle.

"This seems very cliché…" Yukito complained.

"I agree." Ritsuka rubbed his temples. "I guess we'd better check it out, then."

Hostile pulled the door open. It was dark inside, but there was a little bit of light streaming from somewhere underneath the stage.

"Reminds me of the catacombs at the academy…" Soubi informed, standing straight. "Who's going down first?"

"I will." Kei said. "If Haji's okay, he's waiting for me…"

"And if he's not down there?"

"Then I guess I'll have to keep looking."

Ritsuka and Soubi shared a look as the group descended into the catacombs. They followed anyway, closing the doorway behind them. The halls underneath the building were dimly lit, the candles lining the halls giving off barely enough light to be of any use. There was a door at the end of the hallway, and a few more lining it. From what they said on them, it appeared that they were dressing rooms and the likes for live acts to use. There had to be another door that led out of the building then. Ritsuka noted that one door said _Exit_ in bright red letters.

"There's our secondary entrance." He pointed out. "If anyone came in here, that's how they got in."

Soubi nodded. "We may need to make use of it. I'm afraid our prospects are rather grim."

Ritsuka nodded. Kei glared at them over his shoulder as they reached the door at the end of the hall.

"Here goes nothing…" He muttered, turning the knob and pushing the door open.

The door easily gave way, but the hinges at least held up better than the ones on the door upstairs did. The others seemed to visibly hold their breath as they entered the large space. Candles were lit and gave off little light as well, but it was still enough to see a figure tied to a chair and blind folded in the back of the room.

"Haji!" Kei cried, scrambling to the man.

Ritsuka froze in place as he watched the others try and free the obviously unconscious Sacrifice. The scene looked awfully familiar to him. Something Seimei had done back in their youth, faking his death by leaving a corpse in that same position, bound and stripped of all that made him identifiable. Like everyone else, Ritsuka had been fooled into thinking it was his brother. Now he knew better, that the man who had died was his original Fighter. Loveless, one without love, one meant to be alone. Soubi put a hand on his shoulder and lightly shook it to get his attention.

"Are you alright?" He wondered.

"I found Seimei's body just like that…"

"You don't think it's a copycat, do you?"

Ritsuka shook his head. "I doubt Seimei is involved with this one…but if we're right and other Units are involved in this, there's the possibility that they know how Seimei died and decided to mimic it. I mean, stranger things have happened, especially in our world."

"He's alive!" Kei informed, shaking Haji's shoulder. "Haji! Haji, wake up! Come on, wake up…!"

Hostile pulled a rag off his mouth and held it away from her face. "It's soaked. Probably chloroform."

"So, he's unconscious, then." Ritsuka pinched the bridge of his nose. "No sign of anyone else here…we should get him out of here and somewhere safe until he wakes up."

"So, you can interrogate him, I presume?" Kei glared.

"No…I mean, well, _yes_ , I'm going to ask him if he knows who did this, but that's it. I'm more concerned with them coming _back_ while we're here."

"And we have a full-on fight on our hands in the catacombs of a dead bar and a dimly lit room with too little space." Yukito commented. "Good call, Loveless. I don't want to get found here."

"Fine…" Kei muttered. "My apartment is close. It will have to do for now…"

"Noted."

Kei picked up his master almost effortlessly, making sure to support his head the best he could as he did so. "Through that exit door, then." He stated.

The others nodded agreement. Soubi and Yukito helped him carry his unconscious Master while Hostile and the teenagers took up the rear. Zero nudged their way to the front.

"In case someone's waiting on the other side." Yoji informed the others, ignoring the irritated look Kei was giving him.

"Good call." Hostile folded her arms over her chest.

They carefully made their way out through the corridor to the door. Natsuo opened it and poked his head out.

"We're in the clear. Whoever it is, I don't think they're nearby. Probably didn't expect us to look here."

"My ex is sure looking like a positive suspect right now…" Hostile commented. "I don't know who else connected to us would have used the place we met as a kidnapping stage…"

"I'm surprised they didn't make any demands of Kaji, myself." Ritsuka informed. "When we had Nisei hostage at the academy when I was twelve, Seimei made demands as soon as the coast was clear. Gave us Kio in exchange for Nisei. Sometimes I wonder if we made the right call, but then I look at Kio and Akira and I know we did."

She nodded. "You saved a civilian from whatever malicious intent Beloved may have held for him if he was left behind…"

"Bloodless." Ritsuka corrected. "Bloodless was who we had to fight."

She cocked an eyebrow. "Hideo and Yurio…" She paused. "Kaji knew Hideo from school. Such a tragedy that Maiko died."

"Hm." Ritsuka nodded. "Far be it for my brother to do something without an agenda to back it up, unfortunately."

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly as I said."

She nodded, seeming to understand. "Do you think he'll be okay?"

"As long as he's not under a spell like Mirai was," Kunugi's boyfriend, "he'll be ok. I don't sense any magic on him."

"Me neither." She shook her head. "But in this world, you never know, right?"

"One day, never knowing is going to be our downfall."


	33. Leads That Lead to Nowhere

Dlbn: After a long hiatus, I'm back. No reason for the hiatus, just not in the mood and no time to update anything.

Nbld: Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Cookies for you both. I baked them myself!

Promocat: Glad you're enjoying! I know where the plot is going to go right up through the end, but I've thrown in a few extra things here and there to spice it up a bit.

The DarkCat: I'm as surprised as they are by it XD glad you liked! I like having buildings like that being around. I find the door thing with Soubi to be hilarious. Poor thing didn't know what to do with it. The hepatitis thing is a reference to the movie Accepted. Jonah Hill's character says something similar.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and some non-canon OCs that you should know by name by now, I hope. Everything canon to Loveless belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off writing this.

000

Ritsuka and the rest of the self-initiated search party sat in Kei's apartment waiting on Haji to wake up. They'd been sitting around for a little over an hour. Kei tried to use their bond to wake his Master, but it had no results. Ritsuka had a feeling they should call the police or go to a hospital, but that would mean they'd have to answer questions, and doing so would reveal a little too much about their world, so he didn't suggest it. Soubi had suggested using a light spell to try and remove his sleepiness, but Kei was highly against it. Time spent waiting on him to wake up could have been better put towards investigating and getting some real work done to make Septimal Moon happy. Mikado was on his backside more often than she needed to be, even with Zero running around and trying to help. Yoji fell asleep a half hour ago, and Natsuo was drawing stuff on his arms with sharpies the twins had found in Kei's junk drawer.

Kei came out of the bedroom they'd let Haji lay down in and sighed, sitting on the couch next to Hostile.

"Nothing, I'm assuming?" Hostile wondered.

He shook his head. "What if he never wakes up…?"

"I don't sense a spell on him." Yukito informed.

"Neither do I." Soubi agreed. "He's likely just unconscious. Chloroform or something along the lines, most likely."

Kei nodded. "Yeah, no, I know there's no spell. But I don't know what they did to him, so I don't know how to properly counter it, so I can wake him up. Drugs or not…"

"Drugs or not. It's just a matter of time for him to wake from it on his own without medical interference." Soubi informed.

"The hospital is the last place we need to be." Ritsuka informed. "Especially Zero and I. it doesn't exactly fit in that we're with a bunch of adults."

"We pretend to be cousins." Natsuo reminded Ritsuka. "We just tagged along with our cousin and brought a friend along."

"And how do we explain why we thought he was in trouble, how we found him, and why we were so concerned." Ritsuka said. "Seeking professional help just makes us answer questions that are going to put us in a hole."

"You're so overly-cautious, Loveless." Natsuo complained, flopping back on the couch. "Just let shit happen once and a while. I'll give the guy another hour. If he doesn't wake up, I'm calling 911."

"Fine, fine." Ritsuka sighed.

Kei stood suddenly, leaving the room down the hall.

"If he seriously just woke up, I'm going to shit a brick." Yoji commented.

"Commence brick shitting." Ritsuka informed as Kei and Haji made their appearance.

Haji flopped down on the couch with Kei's help. No one spoke for a few minutes.

"Okay, so what the hell?" Hostile wondered.

"Hostile." Ritsuka scolded.

"What? We don't have time to beat around the bush here. They're going to realize he's gone at some point, or do you peg them to be fools? I think they've shown that they're anything but." Hostile rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you think otherwise, Loveless. Thought you were smarted than that, I really did."

Ritsuka sighed. " _Yes_ , but he just woke up. Give him a moment to collect his thoughts. We don't know exactly what was used to knock him out."

"It wasn't a spell, if that helps." Haji commented. "I…I didn't see their faces…I'm not sure I know who they were. I think I do but…I can't say for sure where I know them from."

"Could they be any of the people that were present at the meeting you two attended?" Ritsuka wondered. "The one you showed me during our battle…?"

"Possibly…I don't think it was the leader, though. It was…probably someone working for them. I didn't sense an aura from either of them, so I don't think it was a Unit."

Silence took over for a few minutes, suffocating the room.

"So, we're back to where we started." Hostile groaned. "No leads, no nothing. Is this how you've been running the case so far, Loveless? I'm surprised you haven't ripped your hair out from madness."

"Either whoever is starting this coup will slip up, or one of his subordinates will. I can't imagine that _everyone_ he summoned just walked away."

"The smart ones did." Yoji snorted. "If we just sit around waiting, Mikado is going to dig her claws into this. We can't just wait for someone to slip up."

"We found their hideout." Kei piped up. "It not much, but it's better than nothing."

"We're just going from the assumption that the idiot starting all this nonsense is my ex." Hostile snorted. "The fact that we found him there could mean its connected to him, or it could mean that they picked the first, most abandoned looking building they found and decided to use it."

"The most abandoned looking building that had a secret basement entrance and exit to it where they could move to and from in secret." Natsuo argued. "Either they're convenient, or they know that place well. How did you know him from there? Just another patron?"

"Well…" Hostile flushed and looked away. "He was the bartended that didn't ID…"

Her partner rolled his eyes. "I can't say I'm very surprised by that, I mean…"

"You didn't know this?" Natsuo cocked an eyebrow. "Isn't discussing your exes something you do with the person you're with?"

"Except those two because they've only ever been with each other." Yoji waved his hand at Ritsuka and Soubi.

"Listen, you…" Soubi started to scold.

Ritsuka waved his hand as if it wasn't bothering him, though it was clearly a sore spot for the blond. Soubi not having ears was a painful reminder of his past, that there had been someone else before Ritsuka.

"That's not the point."

"He's not part of our lives, so why bother talking about him? Just knowing Kaji had come from somewhere and why he'd run out on them was more than enough." The Fighter rolled his eyes. "Can we please discuss something that can help out here?"

"But Hostile brought up a good point. He knows about this place and since he worked there, he knows the internal structure. There's no reason he couldn't be involved at least somehow, if not the direct cause." Ritsuka pointed out. "Can you think of anything else, Haji? Anything at all that might help us?"

"No…" He shook his head. "I was unconscious for most of it, really. They approached me from behind and like I said, they sounded familiar, but I don't think I know them. Just some more faces in the crowd. Could be a customer from work, could be some random psycho that happens to sound like some non-psycho that I know. I'm sorry, I wish I knew more."

"Can you think of anyone your ex might know that may help him with something like this?" Soubi turned to Hostile.

"No." She snorted. "Unless we produce something out of our ass…"

"Wait a second." Haji tapped on his chin. "I…do recall something…before I faded out. They said they'd make an example out of me at the next meeting."

"Did they mention when it was…?"

Haji closed his eyes, as if trying to remember a far-off dream. That was fading from his subconsciousness. "I think its Sunday night…"

Ritsuka smirked. "I think I have an idea…"


	34. Proposals Not Fit For Neko Ears

Dlbn: So…hey everyone!

Nbld: Not dead, just busy, and now sick with the flu. Yay…

Dlbn: Also, KH3 came out finally, and so did inspiration for this, which is why I'm here!

Nbld: Let's hop to it! Review Corner! Thank you to The DarkCat and Promocat for reviewing Candy for you both!

The DarkCat: Ask and yee shall receive ;) Zero are great for comic relief. I know I write them super serious all the time, but they need to get their sarcasm and their jabs in there, too.

Promocat: Its bound to happen with all the craziness in their world!

Disclaimer: I own the plot and some OCs that you'll see in here (such as Hostile, and everyone at the meeting that's not canon). Everyone canon to Loveless is property of Yun Koga. I make no money off writing this.

Dedication: If you ready my new year's fic, then you know I'm engaged! To my fiancé for taking care of me while I've been sick as a dog. I love you 3

000

With or without the Executioner's permission, he was going to put an end to this insanity, and it was going to be Sunday night. The signatures of himself and his companions guarded from sight by other Units, Ritsuka and Soubi stalked to the former club where they had found Haji. Mikado had been adamant that it was a trap and not worth checking out, but it was the only lead they had, and not having the answers to give Kaji's mother or terrified students that knew of their world wasn't sitting right with him at all. He felt like he was failing them all, though Soubi and even Zero insisted that he was wrong regarding that. Of course, he didn't believe him. Still, they joined the line of not-obvious Units and obvious civilians as the recruited descended into the pits of hell. The corridors were lit up again with torches, the glow casting an eerie shade over the silent crowd. Almost everyone wore something to hide their face, be it a hat or a hood. The only ones who didn't were people guarding the doors to the main chamber that Ritsuka didn't recognize and hoped the others didn't either. The last thing they needed when walking into the lion's den was for their cover to be blown. Luckily, Mikado had believed him when he said he'd stay away and, from what he could tell, hadn't sent anyone or come herself to make sure that he made good on his promise. A storm from Septimal Moon would ruin his chance at answers and the confusion would give whoever was holding this meeting-Kaji's father or not-the opportunity to escape.

The massive doors swung shut once the last of the group had entered. Ritsuka suppressed a shudder and took Soubi's hand as the doors came a little too close to nicking his tail. He and Soubi shifted slightly to the left while Zero went to the right and Hostile remained rooted in place. He didn't want to bring her since he didn't know what her reaction would be if they mentioned Kaji or if it was his father, given her true nature, but her Fighter insisted he'd keep her calm and they both promised to give him a signal if they had the right guy. If they needed further proof and this was just to be recon, so be it, but they'd give off a different signal. Ritsuka just hoped their joined anger could be kept in check long enough to get some answers and put this case to rest once and for all.

The lights grew dimmer and the people who had been guarding the door from the outside now slipped in front of the doors again like body guards to ensure no one just ran away. The whole atmosphere reminded Ritsuka of a cult documentary they watched in his History class the year prior.

Someone walked onto the stage with two more looming 'guards', up to a podium and held his hands out like a preacher starting a sermon to hush the now whispering crowd. He had a hood up to obscure his face, but when his booming voice spoke through the speakers, Ritsuka noticed Hostile's hand gripping tightly to her Fighter.

Without a doubt, Ritsuka knew who he was dealing with; Kaji's missing father.

"My brothers and sisters." He greeted. "The world we have come to know and love, a simple world of technology and _science_ has found itself falling into the pits of despair and danger of the days of yore." He paused as the crowd began to whisper around again. " _Magic_ is coursing through our simple city streets like never before. There are people out there, wizards, that look like you or me. They blend in effortlessly with the crowds. Case in point, there are several of these people within this very crowd themselves, and you'd never know the difference just by looking!"

People looked around, both seeming concerned that someone near them might be dangerous and that the guy making these strange accusations was on something.

"But fear not. Every one of them here has lost someone near to them because of this magical world in the shadows, and seeks only to help us, the _civilians_ , as they call us."

Someone in the corner raised their hand, robe sleeve slipping down to show off many bracelets on her arm.

"Yes, child?" The man wondered, making Ritsuka want to vomit.

"How do we know…" She paused. "Know that what you say is true, and that you are not one of…them…?"

"I can assure you that I am not, yet I know that this assurance won't mean much when you don't even know who I am." He slipped off his hood.

One of his eyes was almost completely closed and he had no ears. Even so, Ritsuka could see Kaji in the man's cheek bones and felt his heart sank as he squeezed Soubi's hand tighter. There was no mistaking it. Would Hostile be able to keep herself in check? He shot her a sideways glance, but she seemed to be ignoring both him and the man before them, acting like some form Messiah come to spread the truth about magic to the civilian world.

"I regret to inform you that my…injures…were sustained by getting a little too close to one of these magical spells. A battle, if you will. These people operate as groups of two, called Units." He griped the podium tightly. "Unfortunately, my own son was one of these demons. I admit, I was a coward when I fled." He hung his head for a moment. "But no more!" He slammed a fist on the podium and, when his head shot up, there was an evil sparkle in his eye and a dangerous grin on his face. "I will _not_ absolutely _not_ let these monsters tear apart another family, another _life_ like they tore mine." He touched his eye fondly. "I have also learned more recently of my son's own demise…likely by these same magical, demonic beings."

Murmurs of confusion and mistrust spread like wildfire. But with certain people not reacting to it at all, Ritsuka had a feeling who he knew was a hidden member of a Unit. He and Zero shared a slight nod of the head that he hoped went unnoticed by the man's followers and assumed to be from his allies by the civilians.

"There is no need for this senseless violence, yet these magicians practice in secret battles that could very well tear one another apart." He made a motion with his hand as if asking his followers to join him. A few in the crowd inched around spectators and made their way up. "Unfortunately, some of the people we could call allies, who could join my legion, have declined and gone back into hiding. Alas, they will be found once again and brought to the justice they once deserved." He paused. "Now…for a moment, I know that you all suspected that some of you may be magic, some may be civilians. But…that claim was false. There are no civilians here. You know that…do you not?"

What an assumption. Ritsuka looked up at Soubi in confusion.

"In fact, you've seen how easy it is to fake it. How easy it is to not know who your true allies are, to not know who to trust and who to mistrust." He chuckled. "My friends here have already seen the light. Once your world is exposed, they will easily turn against you. But we…we will advocate for your safety. Insist that you are the harmless ones that are not to be feared, but to be respected. If you join us, your safety will be almost guaranteed once this world of yours is exposed."

"How do you know we'll be exposed?" Someone asked, their signature pulsating throughout the room, prompting others to do the same.

About half the group powered up, and half including the Executioners and Hostile did not.

"Because we are going to."

Murmurs spread through the confused crowd.

"My son will only be the first of many casualties! Many of his brethren, many of yours, have been slain by your _precious_ Septimal Moon's Execution Squad. How much longer are you going to let these monsters control your world and make you live in fear? Each one of you here had reason to hate Septimal Moon, reason to fall victim to their own stupidity and inability to completely fact check. Did you know that there is a Unit out there, right now, that can masquerade as any of you? Cause any harm, complete any misdeeds, that they desire, and leave _you_ holding the blame? You will fall."

The crowd began getting rancorous at that. Ritsuka looked around for an escape, noting the doors were mostly unguarded. If they could just…

"My Fighter was taken from me by the Executioners…slain in cold blood." A girl clutched her hands to her chest. "They decided she was guilty without even hearing her story…!"

"My Fighter and I were outcasted from that hell hole school by Minami for failing to follow school rules and causing harm to other students, when we had done no such thing!" A male held up the hand of his partner. "We are outcasts in our own world…through no fault of our own but Septimal Moon's tyranny!"

"But…but Septimal Moon and the Executioners… _do_ weed out the problems, don't they? They can't just hurt and destroy…that's not what they say they do…" Someone who sounded much like a high schooler spoke, voice wavering.

Ritsuka felt like trying to comfort her, but he held back the urge when he realized that doing so would give him away.

"They lie." The man on stage informed. "You all know it to be true…so why do you refuse to believe? Why do you let your hearts and minds waver at the mere _possibility_ that they are trying to do what's best by you? What's to stop them from doing what's best by _them_ to keep grasp of their ill-gotten control over this world?" He paused. "Open the doors. If you are willing to risk extermination in the shadows for worthless hopes, you are free to go. But remember that my courtesy, my promise to protect you, falls to nothing the moment you walk through those doors. When the end of your world comes, you will fall with it."

Some people seemed confused about what to do, but a couple Units that were still whole Units started slowly leaving the building. The confused young girl soon trailed after them, but her shaking shoulders made it clear that she was frightened at the prospect of dying. Ritsuka almost reached for her, but Soubi held him back and Zero fixed him with stern, warning gazes. This was it. Did they leave with the others, or stay to learn more? Hostile gave a low wave of her hand, a signal to run. She seemed to know something was coming that she wasn't exactly willing to stick around for, even if it meant confronting the man who may have murdered his own child-her child. Ritsuka gave the same wave back. Zero slowly turned and left together, huddling together as if frightened themselves. Hostile followed soon after, not even sparing the man another glance. Ritsuka and Soubi took up the rear, the ominous banging of the doors sealing off the inside. The trio of Units went separate ways before meeting up at the nearest bus stop. The frightened girl and one other Unit were there.

"You left, too?" Ritsuka asked, removing his hood.

The girl startled, but the other Unit pulled her close.

"We did." The elder female informed. "You…were sent to retrieve us…?"

"Oh, nothing like that. We left, too." Ritsuka admitted.

The girl smiled gently at him. "Aoyagi." She greeted. "You were there…but why? Septimal Moon and the Executioners are not your enemies."

"You know him Sanji?" The male asked.

"Of course! He's in my class." She grinned. "He's an Executioner."

The parents stood back at that.

"Well, way to give our asses away." Yoji complained, both Zeroes removing their hoods and hats hidden underneath. "Thanks a ton."

Hostile removed her hat and scarf. "You're enemies of Septimal Moon, yet you do not back in fear?" She wondered.

"Well…no." Sanji replied. "I know Aoyagi enough to know that he means no one any harm. He's a pacifist. He's made that clear on more than one circumstance. I can't believe…that's why I couldn't stay there. I couldn't believe those kinds of lies about someone I could consider my friend if I didn't know any better."

"Was anything he said true?" The man asked. "Are we headed towards exposure?"

"That seems to be his end goal, yes." Soubi took off his glasses and cleaned them on the edge of his coat. "However, it is our goal to intercept that."

"He knows who we are now…most of us. I can't believe he'd invite any of you…" Sanji paused. "But that…that just means that when they _do_ out our world, they know where to send people to capture us."

"Like anyone else, you're welcome to seek asylum at the Academy should such a revolution arise." Ritsuka offered.

"How can we trust that?" The woman snorted. "After all your organization has done to us…"

"Kaya…"

"No, Ichiro, I won't let us tiptoe around this." She glared at Ritsuka. "Are you aware of a Unit named Merciless?"

"I…can't say that I have."

"Of course." She snorted. "Before your time, I bet. What about any of you?"

"The name is familiar." Soubi informed. "I believe I attended the Academy with them."

"You'd be around the right age, yeah." Kaya glared. "My cousin and her lover…struck down in cold blood by the Executioners of that era."

"That would be your father." Soubi whispered to Ritsuka. "Alongside Gomon's father and a third party I am not aware of."

He nodded. "I am sorry for your loss…I admit that there was a time when the Executioners and Septimal Moon weren't on the up-and-up, but we've come a long way since then. Long gone are my father's hotheadedness and my brother's homicidal tendencies. As Sanji said, I am a pacifist…"

"Save your apologies and your pacifism for a time when it matters. Where were the sorry-s when it came out that Merciless wasn't behind the attacks against the school? Nowhere." She glared. "No one even bothered to _pretend_ that they knew they'd done wrong."

"Then let me be the first." Ritsuka bowed. "Septimal Moon has a history of…quite frankly…" He looked up. " _Fucking up_ what they intend to do and making innocents suffer. I cannot change what has happened in the past, but I can offer my condolences and do my damnedest to make sure that we don't sink back into the dark path we've been working so hard to escape."

The older Unit shared a look. Sanji smiled gently. "See, mother? He's not such a bad guy…"

"Where is your other half?" Natsuo asked.

"My daughter is a civilian." Kaya snapped. "She only went with us because we didn't think it safe to leave her behind. She was never meant to be a part of this nonsense. And now…we're in danger, all because someone wants revenge for you killing their son. Don't you see the hole you've backed us into by merely existing?"

"This has _nothing_ to do with Haji!" Hostile snarled, stepping forward. "What that bastard says is lies. He ran away. He saw Kaji using spells and ran away in fear. Like a _coward._ My _son_ was a good man. He wanted nothing more than to lay low and take care of his Sacrifice, that _foolish_ little girl…" She paused, fists clenching. "For him to use his son's brutal _murder_ as a basis for his crazed scheme, a reasoning for his madness, is just...complete and other bullshit! How can he care so much about a child he left behind at three years old? How can my son's death mean anything when he life meant _nothing_?"

The two mothers stared one another down. The husbands shared a look and shrugged their shoulders.

"My god, adults are useless." Yoji complained. "Look, lady, you want the truth? Yeah, Septimal Moon and Executioners have done some real _fucked up shit_ in the past that they've never owned up to, but that even Ritsuka is willing to try and make amends for, and he's only known what he even _was_ for four years." He pointed at the most recently awakened Sacrifice. "There may be no making up for it, but what do you expect a bunch of teenagers to do? Go back in time and stop Septimal Moon or make them admit their bullshit and take the blame? Yeah, because _that's_ going to happen. If this _moron_ is going to expose our world and get all of us _killed,_ then you need to put your bullshit in the past where it belongs because we need to stick together if we're going to survive. You don't like that, tough shit."

Ritsuka cleared his throat. "Yoji having sound advice that's not entirely rude or mocking. I'm surprised." He paused at the glare from Yoji and stuck his tongue out briefly. "On the same level, but without the harshness…Kaji was murdered. He was not Executed, not by us. He was drugged. And had the life beat out of him before he succumbed to his own wounds and whatever spells were case upon him. We had nothing to do with it. He was a teacher at my school…I know his students. I know what fear he felt when he got a visitor at the school. No one will say who it was, and no one saw him, but I bet you anything it was his father." He jut is thumb behind him. "His Fighter is beside herself. Their closest friends have also been murdered, likely by this copycat Unit he mentioned. I know they exist because we've _met_ one of them, pretending to be Kaji's Sacrifice and feeding us lies." He looked at Hostile. "I promised his mother, I promised our classmates, that I would find who did this to him and bring him to justice. And if you're more concerned with your petty complaints than stopping a madman who is out to destroy our world and every one of us with it, then I can't help you and this discussion is moot at this point." He held his head high. "I understand your pain. I've been tricked and deceived and hurt and betrayed by someone who was supposed to protect me. By someone who was supposed to have my best interest at heart, and he threw my safety and my life aside like it was nothing." Soubi's hand tightened on his shoulder. "I know nothing I can say can bring back your cousin or her lover or anyone else who's been a victim of previous _bullshit_. But I promise you, I am going to _stop_ our genocide. Our people are not dangerous. If we to be exposed, then we will without a doubt be misunderstood by the civilian masses, minus the few civilians like your daughter who know of our existence. Will it be on the scale he was preaching? I can't say that. This has never happened before in my lifetime, nor any of yours." He looked between the adults. "And the moment we get a grip on the horrible reality we're going to be thrown into, I'm going to _personally_ make Minami _himself_ offer a public retort of the accusations and downright _murders_ of Merciless and anyone else they slain in the older years."

Kaya stared at him like she half believed him, and half didn't.

"Mother?" Sanji looked up at her.

"I…" She paused and cleared her throat. "You have a lot of resolve, Aoyagi…I have to say I admire it. I don't think you can make good on your promises, but I suppose I can't refuse an offer like that, not on my cousin's good, yet tarnished, name…" She bowed. "I accept your proposal. But mark my words, turn our back on me, and you'll have bigger problems than just a nutjob with his own agenda and stupid propaganda."

Soubi glared. "I'd hold your tongue, Miss."

"It's alright, Soubi. I don't fear hr." Ritsuka shook his head. "Then we have a deal. For now, get ready. There's a war brewing. I may be able to stop it, but I can't say that I can prevent it from beginning. After all, wars have to be started to be finished, don't they?"


	35. Weighing the Risks and Rewards

Dlbn: Hello, everyone! I'm back!

Nbld: Between planning the wedding, excruciating back pain, two attacks from the flu, a stomach bug, two er visits, work, cat-sitting, and the typical busy crap I'm stuck doing, there's been no time to write or update. But here we are, another chapter, and another Review Corner! Thank you to Promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Cookies for you both!

Promocat: Someone has to. Pretty sad it must be a sixteen-year-old boy, when there's so many adults in their world capable of doing something.

The DarkCat: He's pretty screwed up. Using your son's death for your own personal gain? How much trashier can you get? We're getting nearer to the end. The suspense is killing even me, and I know what's happening ^^"

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, Kaji, and any other Units that aren't canon to Loveless. Everything canon to Loveless belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off writing this fic.

000

Sanji grabbed Ritsuka and pulled him aside just before lunch the following day. She handed him an envelope with nothing written on it. He cocked an eyebrow at her.

"What's this about?" He wondered.

"That man…sensei's father…" She paused. "His minions gave this to my parents when they invited them to the first meeting. We're not sure if its anything useful, but my parents don't want it in the house, so why not give it to someone who could make use of it?"

"Thank you." Ritsuka shoved it in his pocket. "I'll look it over with my Fighter and Zero when we get home tonight."

She nodded once. "Thank you for…you know…trying to help. My mom's cousin…he really was innocent. I've seen the evidence…"

"I'm surprised your parents let you in on anything regarding our world, honestly. It's not something civilians should be privy to."

"Well, considering I'm a civilian and my parents clearly have made enemies of your organization and who knows who else, it's probably better that I know what's going on around me, so I'm prepared." She rubbed her left arm. "Mom was always adamant about me being able to defend myself. I've been doing karate since I was four."

"Better to be prepared and not have to be than to be caught off guard and ill-prepared." He nodded. "If I didn't think it would freak them out, I'd let my friends in on it, too, really."

"Honestly, the first time I saw a battle, it did freak me out a little. Mother explained it to me and knowing makes me feel a little safer. But…do you think he was right? That guy? That they'll turn on you if they know? The rest of the civilian world, I mean."

"I'm not sure how civilians will react. I'm hoping they just pass him off as a madman."

"I think that's what he is…if sensei's mother was right…using your son's death like that." Her skin crackled under the pressure of the fists she was balling up. "It's despicable. I don't care if you're trying to protect the world. You failed to protect your son and ran away when he was just a child…if that's the case, you've already failed the world."

Ritsuka nodded. "I'm glad to meet someone so level headed about this. Everyone else has been…"

"Scared stiff, and rightfully so…you don't know who killed Sensei, do you?"

"That Unit the man mentioned, that can be anyone they want? I'm pretty sure they're connected to the murder, yes. Obviously, I have no proof and we haven't been able to locate them."

"I wonder if this guy can." She shuddered. "I'm afraid to see what kind of fresh hell we're going to be thrown into if this idiot opens his mouth."

"You and me both, Sanji…"

000

Sensei's father was thorough, Ritsuka decided as he looked over the information Sanji had given him for the tenth time that night. His mother let him stay the night at Soubi's again, so long as he came back with his ears and tail attached, so he and the others were trying to make sense of it all. There were charts and timelines, photographs of Sanji's parents that were obviously taken without their knowledge, and information blurbs about everything from how battles were fought to who was in charge of their world. Thankfully, no names had been given. Everyone who was part of the spell world would know who was in Septimal Moon, anyway. It was more likely just to show how much he knew and how much of a threat he was. One candid picture of Sanji sitting outside a café, drinking bubble tea and laughing with friends made Ritsuka's skin crawl. The guy had the audacity to stalk and make mention of their civilian child. No wonder they were so on edge and took Sanji with them to the meeting.

"He knows his stuff." Natsuo put down an index card he'd been looking at that depicted how a bond worked. "I wonder how much he's found on his own and how much his goons managed to collect."

"I doubt everything here was discovered by him. A lot of it are things you wouldn't know unless you went to the Academy." Soubi tapped on a card about healing spells. "They have to have been feeding him this information."

"But for what purpose?" Ritsuka tapped his chin. "I mean, why would they tell him anything? And how did he find these people in the first place…"

"Maybe he happened on a spell battle." Yoji offered.

"And he just knew they were enemies of Septimal Moon, of the very world he's trying to destroy?"

"He just wants to cause fear." Yoji rolled his eyes. "The more fearful we are, the better control he has over our world. No one is going to fight or do anything they'd normally do when they're afraid the rest of the world will notice and hunt them down for it."

"He's hoping it would be like the Salem witch trials in the old days of the US if he exposed us. People killing one another and turning in people they suspect of being one of us when they're not. Its fear mongering and an attempt at control." Soubi sat back in his chair. "He knows enough to ruin us. That's all he's doing with all this information gathering and photo taking."

"I can understand that, but what's his motive? Why, because he saw his son use a spell and it freaked him out? Most people would just force that deep into their subconscious to forget about, so they didn't have to deal with the fear and reality, not use it to destroy something they don't understand."

"Maybe he's one of those strange overly religious types." Yoji shrugged his left shoulder. "Who knows, who cares? Forget a motive. We need to figure out how to stop him and his goons before they open their stupid mouths."

"Easier said than done." Soubi pointed out. "He's a civilian. If we do anything regarding him, they're just going to use that as further proof that our kind are to be feared and eliminated."

"And if we go after the Units working for them, he'll use that as well to prove to our kind that _we_ can't be trusted." Ritsuka sighed, sliding down further in his chair. "He's got us backed into a corner no matter what approach we make."

"We have a right to defend ourselves if attacked, so we could just wait around, but that's not going to do us any good. Our people want justice for sensei's death, and they're not going to be happy with us just sitting around." Natsuo pointed out. "What are we going to do? We need a solid plan."

Ritsuka fixed him with a solemn gaze. "Unfortunately, I think it's time we brought Septimal Moon up to speed."

000

To say Mikado was upset that Ritsuka and Zero had gone behind her back would be an understatement. The normally calm teenager was standing at attention at Septimal Moon's meeting table, tight fists clenched on the table and tit obviously grit as she spoke slowly. Tokino put a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her, but she shrugged it away.

"You did what I specifically asked you _not_ to do." She complained. "What if you had been caught?"

"But we weren't." Ritsuka pointed out, standing as well in anticipation of a Ritsu-Nagisa style argument. "Our people want justice for Sensei's murder, for the other Unit's murder, and you expected me to just sit around and do nothing, just wait for something to fall into my lap? That's not how we do things, Mikado."

"We do things when we are in _agreement_." She pointed out. "And you _deliberately_ went against our own policies. And for what?"

"Vital information of what this psycho is planning and just how much he knows." Ritsuka threw the file from Sanji onto the table, contents spilling out across the table. The photograph of Sanji and her friends slid to a stop in front of Mikado's clenched hands. "I got this from my classmate. My _civilian_ classmate. It was left for her Unit parents by the guy orchestrating all this." Ritsuka informed as Mikado's eyes shifted to the photograph. "He was willing to go after a _civilian_ just to get at her parents. What he knows? He knows almost everything of our world. The Units working for him already probably told him most of it. But he knows enough to not only expose our world, but to destroy Septimal Moon from the inside out. I _can't_ sit around waiting anymore. I have to take action. Sensei's mother and step father deserve it, my classmates that are part of our world deserve it… _sensei_ deserves it. We have to take this man down before he can take us down."

"We find ourselves at a crossroads." Ritsu spoke up. "Both of you, sit down. Your points are valid."

Ritsuka did as ordered, plopping onto Soubi's lap with a huff. Tokino gently eased Mikado away from the table and back into her seat.

"And how do you propose we go after him, Aoyagi?" Ritsu looked to the youngest member. "If we go after him, its proof we will hurt civilians."

"And if we go after his allies, it proves we're willing to hurt our own." Ritsuka nodded. "Zero and I discussed the possibilities last night. That's why I called this meeting myself. We're stuck. We have the who and the how, but we don't have the why or the plan to follow through on."

"If we can eliminate his people quietly, we may have a chance of at least disarming him." Nagisa offered.

"The moment one of his people go missing, he's likely to leak everything he knows." Ritsuka informed.

"The question remains, then." Nana piped up. "Are we willing to risk exposure of our world to the outside to take down a civilian who may not even make good on his threats?"

"He's clearly done his research." Ritsuka replied, tapping on the folder on the table. "If he's gone this far, there's no reason to assume he _won't_ say anything."

"Whether we take care of him or not, the information is probably going to get out." Mikado laced her fingers on top of the table, appearing calmer now. "If we take out his people one by one, he'll reveal it himself. If we take care of him, we don't know if the others have standing orders to expose what they can before they're caught." She tapped the photograph in front of her. "Obviously some civilians know more than they're supposed to, but they're okay with it."

"She's the only civilian we know that is aware of our world. I'm not sure how others would react. People aren't really kind to things they don't know or understand." Ritsuka objected. "Are we willing to run the risk that exposing us won't hurt us?"

The room went silent, weighing the options. Risk exposure under the assumption that people would be accepting? Or take the problem out completely before it could spread and run that risk? The options weren't great. No matter what, the world would be stained in blood, all of Septimal Moon's hands tainted by plasma if they were to either eliminate the issues or dive head first into a war by letting themselves be exposed. Guilt weighed heavily on Ritsuka's mind. Though he knew there was nothing he could do about it, he wished something could have been done sooner. Sensei deserved justice, that was true. But Ritsuka and the others first and foremost had a duty to keep their people protected from anything that could destroy them. And Kaji's father met that description to a T.

On the other hand, they could run the risk that civilians simply wouldn't care. The spell world didn't involve them, so why fear something they didn't need to bother being a part of in the first place? Ritsuka knew his friends might be a little more open-minded than other people he knew and would definitely see himself and Zero in a new light if they knew what they were capable of. But Yuiko was jumpy as it was. And wouldn't exposing their world give Units free reign to fight out in the open, in front of witnesses? Would the police get involved in battles when they saw them? Would other civilians run in terror or stare in awe as battles unfolded right before their very eyes? Would their people even know to continue keeping themselves indoors and out of sight when battling?

There was the chance that revealing their world could cause mass panic in either world. Their own people would fear civilian retaliation, maybe stop using spells altogether to prevent being found out. Civilians might fear being attacked with spells they had no way to protect themselves from. They had no way to tell how civilians would react. Sanji was okay with it, but they were her parents. The bond between parents and child wasn't something easily broken, and Sanji had probably been a part of things since she was born.

Kio and Akira knew a few things from what Soubi had opened up to Kio about back before Seimei faked his death, and though wary of their friends being hurt, they seemed understanding and accepting. But, he supposed, when it was the people closest to you that were revealing this side of themselves, it was easy to see them as the same people you'd known all the years you'd called them friends, family.

"He's working in the shadows as of now." Ritsu broke the uncomfortable silence that had fallen over the meeting chambers. "Confronting him in public isn't going to get us anywhere. There's no point. The people siding with him are our enemies just as much as he is." Ritsu drummed his fingers on the table top. "Currently, our biggest threat is the false Flightless Unit."

"He's made it pretty obvious that they're either on his side, or at least have seen him enough to know anything he's planning." Soubi stated. "He made specific mention of their ability to mimic any Unit at the meeting."

Nagisa shook her head, teal curls bouncing. "He knows of them, but we don't know if they're allies."

"His son died by their hands and suddenly he comes out of the woodwork to frighten our people into joining him." Ritsuka cocked an eyebrow. "I'd say the two are pretty connected."

"We need to find them and take them down before anything. The Executioners specifically cannot move until we are certain the Units we are going after are really behind the trouble." Mikado informed.

"That brings up another point." Ritsuka cleared his throat. "The girl who gave me this. Her parents are related to a Unit named Merciless. I'm sure you know of them. They were falsely Executed by the old squad, when my father was present."

Ritsu flushed crimson. "I'm aware of the situation regarding Merciless…"

"Could it be possible that this odd Unit was functioning back then and _posing_ as Merciless? They would have attended the academy at the same time Soubi did, making them about his age."

"Yes, Merciless attended the Academy with Soubi, that's true. But we have no record of this Unit. They likely didn't go to school here."

"And sensei was about the same age as Soubi, correct?"

"Yes? Where are you going with this, Loveless?"

Ritsuka's ears twitched at mention of his true name. "Hear me out on this theory. Sensei's father would have run off when he was six. Merciless were teenagers when eliminated?"

"Sixteen and fifteen, if I remember correctly."

Ritsuka nodded. "With all the information he's gathered and all the people he's gathered, it's safe to assume he's been working on this since he ran off on sensei and Hostile, yes?"

"Yes…?"

Mikado chuckled. "I see where he's going." She informed. "You think Merciless was the first victim. Not Kaji."

Ritsuka nodded again. "A test run. As far as we know, has anyone else been falsely eliminated by the Executioners?"

"Your father officially retired after the Merciless incident, since he was the one tasked with carrying out the Execution. Gomon's father was sick at the time." Ritsu informed. "Rules changed after he left in shame of what he'd done. There's no record of any eliminations that were false."

"Merciless were a test run." Ritsuka declared. "When their death brought the Executioners to their knees, Kaji's father succeeded in his plan."

"And then what? He waited all this time to make another move with the false Unit?" Ritsu cocked an eyebrow.

"Hostile and Kaji moved shortly after she remarried to her Fighter." Ritsuka informed. "He would have had to not only track them down but earn Kaji's trust enough to get him alone so he could be drugged and kidnapped before his death, as he was. It wouldn't be a stretch to say this false Unit were still coming into their name and abilities. Once they succeeded in taking down Merciless…"

"He was ready to use them for the big show. Get his son alone, kill him, and use his death as a catalyst for the rest of his plan."

"My witness said Kaji got a call about a visitor and went pale. He disappeared shortly after. I don't think he paled out of fear. I think he paled out of surprise, or maybe shame that he was actually communicating with the man his mother despised." Ritsuka sighed sadly. "Family drama worked in this guy's favor. I can't say exactly how he got Sensei out, just that Kaji wasn't seen again after leaving to meet with this person. He was likely abducted either from school or right after the meeting."

"Assuming Merciless was a test run, as Executioners, we have the right and responsibility to go after whoever caused their false execution. And that would have to be this false Unit." Mikado spoke softly.

"Technically, it would be Kaji's father if he was the one orchestrating everything." Ritsuka pointed out. "But since he's a civilian and we can't prove he'd ordered it, it's not our place to deal with him."

"You have a way and a reason to eliminate this false Unit." Ritsu stated. "Solving the mystery behind the unlawful death of Merciless and the murders of Kaji and Victorious. Connect the three incidents as well as you have, and we have proof enough to eliminate this false Unit. Take away the false Unit, take away his power and stop him from creating any more victims."

"And if he uses the death of this false Unit as a catalyst to expose us?" Mikado wondered. "Then what?"

"Then we will handle it as it comes. For now, we can't worry about the what ifs. Catch this false Unit and Kaji's family, as well as Victorious' respective families and your classmates will be satisfied that justice was wrought. We don't need anyone knowing about Kaji's father and his plans. It would only cause mass panic. Take out this Unit as quietly as possible. We'll handle any kickback as it comes in."

"We don't know what they really look like, or who they are. We don't even have a name." Mikado objected. "How are we expected to find them?"

Ritsuka smirked. "We set a trap."


	36. The Final Showdown

Dlbn: Hello, everyone! I'm back with another chapter!

Nbld: The writing bug came back full force for a few days, so we've been making the best of it.

Dlbn: Which is why this chapter is so frigging long.

Nbld: Review Corner! Thank you Promocat and The DarkCat for reviewing! Candy for you both!

Promocat: That's something Ritsuka would do. Put himself in the line of fire to protect others.

The DarkCat: And another one coming up! Seems to be no end in sight for these guys. Who knows what kind of craziness they've caused in the past? Since Ritsuka's father stepped down after Merciless and everything was changed, it's safe to assume Merciless was the last, even if they weren't the first. Kaji's father has the uncanny ability to charm people, sort of like Seimei.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and OCs. Everything canon to Loveless belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off writing this.

Dedication: Dedicated to my new job and my new doctor who figured out what might be the real cause for my jaw pain. Waiting for test results.

000

Ritsuka didn't like skipping school, and he didn't like dragging people to skip school _with_ him, but in this case, it was justified. With Akito and her father, Zero, Sanji and her parents, Hostile, Taika, and Mako in tow, Ritsuka held a rather unconventional meeting in Soubi's too small apartment. Zero shared the couch with Akito and her father, Taika and Mako brought in the kitchen chairs for themselves and Sanji and her parents, Hostile sat on the floor between the couch and chairs, and Ritsuka leaned on the doorway to the kitchen with Soubi right behind him.

"I hope there's a point in all this, Aoyagi." Hostile was the first to speak. "We're missing work, and most of you should be in class right now."

"What's more important?" Ritsuka wondered. "Learning how to graph equations and mixing chemicals, or taking down the people out to destroy our world?"

He'd let Akito, her father, Taika, and Mako in on everything that was happening when they first arrived at Soubi's apartment. Sanji and her parents, and Hostile, were the last to appear. He'd summoned them later on purpose.

"What do you have…?" Mako began slowly, not sure if she had a place to speak or not. "You know who was behind sensei's murder, right…?"

"And Victorious." Akito chimed in quickly, looking away when anyone looked in her direction.

Ritsuka nodded. "Regretfully, its Kaji's father calling the shots."

"I still can't believe he killed his own son…what kind of…" Taika's fist clenched against his knee as he visibly bit his tongue to prevent himself from speaking.

" _Monster_ does that?" Hostile finished for him. "My ex, apparently. Scumbag…"

Her Fighter squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"Our personal feelings aside, I need to get justice for both Kaji and Victorious…and Merciless."

Sanji's mother sat up straight at that. "What are you talking about?" She wondered.

"Merciless was falsely executed years ago, you know this. The revelation forced my father into a shameful retirement consisting of his memories being wiped. The entirety of the Executioners was broken down and rewritten to prevent such an incident from occurring again." Ritsuka informed. "Merciless was accused of orchestrating attacks against the Academy. It was discovered long after that they were innocent and executed on false information. We have reason to believe that there _was_ a Merciless behind the attacks, but not the legitimate Unit."

"You're referring to that Unit that can disguise themselves as other Units, yes?" Sanji's father wondered.

Ritsuka nodded. "Yes. We believe that they disguised themselves as Merciless and caused the attacks under the direction of Kaji's father as a test run for the plot he is unfurling now."

Kaya seemed to relax a little at that. "And this same Unit…you think they killed the others?"

"Kaji was drugged before his murder. The murder weapon was likely a spell; it left no trace. Kaji's father isn't capable of producing spells. In fact, the idea itself terrifies him."

"Which is why he ran off. Saw Kaji use a spell once." Hostile snorted. "Weak…"

"Victorious was murdered in the same manner. Kaji received a visitor before he disappeared. We believe it was his father, attempting to earn his trust. How he lured him away or was able to drug him, we're not certain." Ritsuka shook his head. "After he died and Akito and her father went into hiding, a member of this false Unit appeared, pretending to be Akito and giving me intentionally false information."

"Or what they believed to be true information." Yoji added. "Who knows what stupidity Kaji's father put into their heads."

Ritsuka nodded. "In pretending to be Akito, they didn't cause any damage, but fled before we could return with Sweepers." He informed. "Kaji's father made mention of this Unit once more at the meeting. He knows of their existence and their ability for a _reason_. To let us know that there was someone out there capable of pretending to be other Units to cause trouble. I thought the point was to cast doubt in the Executioners and Septimal Moon, but that may not be the case. It's more likely his way of saying he could destroy anyone that was at that meeting using this fake Unit. He may not be aware that the Executioners are not operating because of this other Unit making themselves known to us. We haven't been active in quite some time. It's been a while since they first appeared. We can use that to our advantage."

"So why are we here?" Sanji wondered.

"All of you are connected to this case in one way or another." Ritsuka informed. "Sanji, your parents…"

"Tactless." Her mother corrected.

"Tactless, you were summoned by Kaji's father. Sanji was with you at the meeting and was mentioned in the information folder they sent you to prove they've been watching you." Ritsuka continued. "Akito, it was your Fighter that was murdered. Hostile, you are Kaji's parents. Taika, Mako, you were his students. Zero and I are self-explanatory. We need all hands-on deck here, but summoning Septimal Moon and the Executioners to Tokyo is just asking for trouble."

"You're planning something." Hostile smirked. "I want in."

"As do I." Her husband nodded.

"I want revenge for my cousin…" Kaya paused. "But I don't want my daughter involved…"

"I'll do anything to help sensei." Mako nodded, smiling widely. "Taika?"

"Yeah, I'm in! He was a pretty cool teacher. Shame he's being used like this." Taika added.

"Kaji…didn't deserve what happened…" Akito paused. "And these people hurt Victorious…they hurt Merciless, and who knows who else!" She flushed and looked at her father. "I want to help."

"I'm in if you are, sweetheart." Her father kissed her temple.

"You know we're with you one hundred, Aoyagi." Yoji gave him a sarcastic thumbs up, earning a slap from Natsuo for it.

"Sow hat's the plan?" Hostile wondered.

"Here's what we need to do…"

000

It took too long for Sunday to come around. The plan would have worked at any point, but it was the only time the kids could get together without skipping school and the adults didn't have to go to work. Nightfall as beginning to crawl over Tokyo Central Park, where the group resided. Zero and Loveless stood across from one another, battling as obviously as they could, making sure to broadcast their signatures as far and as strong as they could. If they wanted to attract attention, they'd do it however was necessary. Sanji, Taika, and Mako were in the clearing in the woods, huddled together and shaking as if the battle was frightening them. Taika and Mako had their signatures disguised so not even the strongest Fighter would be able to sense them. Sanji's only advantage was that she was a civilian. Hostile and Tactless stood in the shadows, lying in wait. Akito and her father stood just outside the battlefield, on Loveless' side. The battle was almost over, but no one out of the ordinary had come out of the woodwork yet. With a final spell from Soubi, a restriction placed itself over Zero's eyes, ending the battle. The battle system shut off, but the four power signatures were still powerful enough to be felt back in Kyoto. If Seimei and his crew were privy to the fight, he hoped they'd know enough to _stay away_. The restrictions fell from both parties as Yoji gasped for breath and grabbed at his throat. Ritsuka could almost hear him mentally screaming at Soubi for being an asshole. Natsuo hunched down with him, making sure his partner was okay.

"You won." He conceded defeat softly. "Just let us be…we've done nothing against Septimal Moon…"

"Our records state otherwise, Zero." Ritsuka informed with a false scowl. "By order of Septimal Moon and the Executioners, you are to be eliminated."

Natsuo looked up from Yoji and fixed Ritsuka with a glare that could kill, though Ritsuka knew it was false and Natsuo was internally screaming with laughter.

"Who have we harmed?" Natsuo wondered. "You at least have to tell us that…tell us why we're being hunted down like dogs."

"For starters, those three civilians." Ritsuka pointed in the direction the others were hiding in. "As a Unit trained by the Academy, you better than to start trouble with civilians."

"But they…"

"I don't much care for what they did. This isn't the first incident."

"We have no idea what you're talking about!" Yoji shouted, suddenly finding his voice again. "We haven't done anything against anyone!"

"That's what they all say." Ritsuka sighed, snapping his fingers. "Soubi, you know what to do."

"Hai." Soubi nodded, walking over to the two teens.

With them hunched on the ground, he loomed over them like a crow over roadkill.

"Please, Loveless, we haven't done anything! There has to be an explanation! Please, show mercy…" Natsuo begged.

"There is no room for mercy when you involve civilians in these matters." Ritsuka scowled. "Soubi, end it."

Soubi held up his hand, prepared to cast a spell, but before he could, one shot out of nowhere and pushed him back.

Ritsuka's eyebrows shot up. "Soubi!" he called out.

Soubi dug his heel into the ground and stopped himself from being forced back. "I'm alright!" he called out.

"What the…?" Natsuo turned.

In the slight haze from the streetlamps that were just starting to glow, Ritsuka could make out the sight of two figures stalking towards them. When they got closer and their features were more visible, he recognized them as the false Unit. He tried not to show surprise or fear as he held his chin up.

"Who are you?" He wondered. "You dare get in our way?"

"Executioner." The male held out his hand, speaking in monotone. "At long last, we meet."

"My Sacrifice asked you a question." Soubi barked. "You'd do best to answer it."

"We are none of your concern." The girl spoke, her voice as monotonous as the male at her side. "Septimal Moon strikes again…destroying the innocent…"

"Innocent is a matter of perspective, my dear." Ritsuka informed. "These two have been charged with harming civilians using word spell, something you must know is forbidden in our world."

"Yes…yet they proclaim their innocence, and you have yet to let them speak." The boy waved his hand over Yoji and Natsuo.

"Executioner word is law." Ritsuka responded. "There is no time nor place for lies here. Stay out of matters that do not concern you."

"Don't concern us?" The girl blinked. "You and your kind are going to expose our world. Those civilians are still around, watching, waiting…what's to stop them from going to the police…? They've seen your face…"

"Their memories will be wiped."

"Using word spell against civilians…going against your own rules." The male cocked his head to the side. "I guess that's what the Executioners excel at, no…? Isn't there enough blood on your hands…?"

Ritsuka snorted. "I've grown used to the scent of freshly spilled iron." He argued. "If you wish to get involved, you can be executed as well."

The girl helped Yoji and Natsuo stand.

"With no proof of anything being done wrong by us? With no execution order…?" The boy blinked. "What do you think our people will think when they discover you've been executing innocents left and right…?"

The chuckle coming from the girl sounded dark and twisted compared to her monotonous voice, almost robotic and demonic in its cackle. The hair on the back of Ritsuka's neck stood on edge and his ears flattened.

"You're in the wrong position, Loveless." She taunted. "If you execute us for nothing, our allies will expose your fraud to our world. To the _entire_ world…"

"Eliminate us for getting in the way to save innocent souls and expose everything or let the four of us go and keep your secrets to yourselves." The boy cackled just as evilly as the girl had, making even Yoji and Natsuo look uncomfortable. "You have your choice. I just hope you can live with whatever you can choose…"

"It's already been decided." Ritsuka informed. "You will cease resisting Execution…pardon, I have yet to get your name…"

"We are Copycat." The boy informed. "If you want to execute us, know that we won't be going down without a fight."

"I anticipated that." Ritsuka informed. "I declare this a battle of word spell."

Soubi joined him.

"We accept!" The girl agreed, moving away from Zero.

The battle area activated and Ritsuka felt a strange pulse in the air. It had to be Copycat's power signature. It had a beat, yet it didn't at the same time. It was melancholic, yet melodious.

"This is the power of Copycat…" He whispered to Soubi along their bond. "Be careful, Soubi. We don't know what they're capable of in battle."

"Or who they're capable of being." He whispered back. "We don't know if that ability exists only outside the realms of battle."

"Affirmative."

"Shards of ice, rain down upon the enemy and encase them in a frozen embrace!" There was a hint of emotion in the boy's voice as he called out a spell.

"He's the Fighter." Ritsuka informed.

"Flames surround us and melt the shards of ice attacking my being. Reduce damage to zero." Soubi called back as shards of ice started shooting for them. Flames licked up from the ground at his feet and melted the shards into little puddles that were slowly evaporating in the battle area.

Copycat scowled. "We are Copycat." The girl stated their name again. "We can take the form of whom we please, as we please. You will fear our power…!"

Their bodies glowed lightly as if that had been a spell of her own. Ritsuka blinked in confusion. He thought he and Seimei were the only Sacrifices capable of using Word Spell. Was that part of Copycat's ability? They could be any Unit…did that mean they could be either member of the Unit as well?

"Vines, wrap my enemy and cease their struggles in movement." Soubi called out.

"Flames, ignite the vines!" The girl's voice morphed into one Ritsuka knew well. "Destroy them before they can reach us! We cannot be touched by nature! Damage is reduced to zero!"

"Ah, so they've decided to mock us, I see." Soubi informed. "Strange…I wonder what other Units you're hiding in your reserves. Winds, knock my enemy out of range so their spells can no longer reach us."

"Wind has no effect on us!" The boy called. "Winds form! Create a swirling tornado and take our enemies out of my sights!"

Soubi kissed Ritsuka quickly for a quick power up, then turned as viciously as the winds to face Copycat.

"Your tornado doesn't scare me." He informed. "Ground, rise! Send the swirling winds to the heavens!"

The ground rumbled and roared as the area under the slowly moving tornado lifted high in the air. The tornado dissipated as it reached the top of the battle area and pierced it. The ground quickly leveled out, sending a shockwave that almost knocked the Units off their feet and out of their hiding spots. Luckily, no one stumbled outside of the unsuspecting Zero.

"Hey, watch it! We're on your side, Copycat! Don't give them ammunition!" Yoji complained.

"Silence." The girl ordered. "Clouds cover the moon. Give me a Moonless night…!"

"They're copying Moonless." Soubi stated. "Using a moonless night to empower themselves."

"You have no idea what power you're toying with." The male copycat taunted. "Neither did Victorious, Kaji…they all fell to our fury…!"

"So, you admit to the deaths of Kaji and Victorious!" Ritsuka glared, feeling the power building up from his gut and traveling down to his hands. "Murderers!"

"We are no different than you are, Loveless…! Our hands are tainted in blood to bring treacherous Septimal Moon to its _knees_!" The girl cackled again. "You will suffer as you have made others suffer! Itchiru, unleash your full power! Eliminate the Executioner!"

"The moonless night grants us untold ability!" Itchiru called. "Stars! Your brilliant light is bright and painful as it pierces our enemies' skin!"

"Winds, blow away the clouds granting power to Copycat!" Soubi called desperately. "The light of your stars might pierce the darkness you encased us in, but they are no match for the might of the moon! Darkness blind my enemy from seeing me so that their attacks may misdirect! Damage to Loveless is reduced to zero! Damage to Copycat is a thousand!"

"Moon, lend me your glow!"

"The moon will not assist those who disrespect and betray her." Soubi informed. "As long as you are Moonless, it can only harm you!"

Light pierced through the darkness and stabbed into the wrists of Copycat. The girl cried out.

"Shift!" She ordered.

"Our attacks leave no room for counter attacks or reflections." Itchiru spoke. "You will not be able to escape nor defeat our attacks. We continue without mercy…!"

"You're copying Merciless…" Ritsuka gaped. "A Unit we executed…"

"Ah, Merciless…so much fun they were…begging for mercy of the Executioners. Begging to be able to tell their stories before they died." The girl giggled. "No one was going to believe them…the poor fools. Their deaths were the catalyst…"

"Catalyst for what?" Ritsuka wondered.

"Wouldn't you like to know, _Executioner_!" Itchiru laughed loudly. "Streetlight, explode! Rain shards of glass down upon our enemies! Restriction level seven, damage is ten thousand!"

"You know nothing of our power." Soubi argued as the streetlight crackled towards explosion. "Trees lend me your branches! Form a canopy over our heads to lessen the blows! Damage is reduced by half! Clouds create a layer of fluffy peace above the treetops! Damage is reduced by then half again! Moon, lend me your light! Send your luminous companions to protect my clouds! Damage is reduced by half once more! Damage is 1250!"

The streetlight exploded with a loud crack and shards rained down, slowing through each layer Soubi created with spells. Ritsuka covered his head and let the shards scrape his arms. Only about a dozen or so hit either of the pair, causing minimal damage as restriction chains wrapped around their wrists.

Copycat looked at one another in surprise, as if they hadn't expected Soubi to be able to counter their spells that well.

"You know what to do." The girl stated.

Itchiru nodded. "I do." He agreed. "Merciless, your power has failed me! I call on the power of Victorious! We will leave this battle the victors! Defeat is not known to us, the word not even in our dictionaries!"

"Here we go again." Soubi shook his head. "Don't you two learn? _Unstoppable_ teams stand no chance against me."

"Silence! Night birds, descend! Peck at our enemies like the liter on the ground! Damage is irrefutable!"

"Seeds, reign down from the tree tops! Distract the birds coming after me so that I may destroy them!"

Darkness in the shape of birds began descending on Loveless, but then suddenly stopped mid descent and turned. Swirls of colors like little seeds were falling from the trees over Copycat.

"Damage is reversed onto Copycat! Damage is three thousand!"

The birds dove quickly.

"Counter! Reflect! Refract!" Itchiru called out every spell he could to try and stop the birds, but they ignored his words and began pecking the 'seeds' off the other Unit.

"Cats! Take away these annoying pests! Protect myself and my master!" A chain wrapped around either of Copycat's neck as darkness shaped like cats pounced onto the birds, knocking them to the ground.

"My spells are completely controlled." Itchiru stated, his power signature shifting once again to something Ritsuka didn't recognize. "Words in the form of fog, blind my enemy so they cannot see the danger! Words as knives, pierce the fogs and my opponent's defenses and grant me my victory!"

"Swords, cross and clash. Protect my master and I from the knives of Copycat!"

Darkness like knives flew at the dark swirling around Ritsuka and Soubi. In the haze, two large swords formed from bright yellow light. When the knives hit them, there was the cling of metal on metal and the swords glowed brighter, destroying the knives in one foul swoop. The silence that took over was almost deafening. Copycat were first to recover from the sound.

"Itchiru, I'm growing tired of this stupidity!" The Sacrifice complained. "You're not going to lose; not on my watch. Get off your ass and fight _properly_!"

"This _is_ properly!" Itchiru rolled his eyes at his master. "It's not my fault they actually know what they're _doing_!"

"Well, you copy their asses and figure out what the hell _you're_ doing before I lose my patience!"

Ritsuka and Soubi looked at one another in confusion. Were they really pausing their battle to fight each _other_? Were they copying someone? Or was this just another tactic? Even Zero were staring at the other Unit, mouthing _what the hell are you doing_ as if they were talking to Copycat, though they were really talking to Ritsuka and Soubi.

"Um, excuse me?" Ritsuka asked after a moment. "Are you two quite through? This is a battle for your lives…not a power struggle between you two."

Copycat turned to glare at him. The boy opened his mouth but was cut off by Soubi before he could cast a spell.

"I've had enough of this." Soubi stated. "I've grown weary of your games and general stupidity. I'm ending this battle."

"Thank you." Ritsuka laughed, a humorless, dry sound. "I'm not used to battles of this caliber going so long. I'm starting to get sleepy."

He faked a yawn and pat his mouth as if trying to keep it in.

"Don't mock us!" Itchiru ordered, stomping his foot on the ground like a child. "Metal bars! Encase Loveless in your never-wavering hold! Don't let them escape my clutches!"

A rounded metal structure fell around the Unit, making Ritsuka burst into laughter.

"All its missing is a rubber duck, and we've got Fearless!" He laughed. "You're using _playground equipment_? Soubi, please, end these amateurs. This is too desperate, and that's saying something…"

Soubi chuckled, trying not to delve into full blown laughter and lose his composure as _the perfect Fighter_.

"As you wish." He responded instead. "Clouds forming the veil above me. Allow rain to descend from your fluffy protection. The rain combines with the light of the stars to form acidic rain to eat through the metal cage surrounding me. The spell is reversed and Loveless are freed."

Glowing green rain droplets fell from above, melting through the metal bars and making a loud sizzling sound. Now free from the barrier encasing them, Soubi was free to unleash another spell. Soubi waved his hand back at Ritsuka, signaling that they should use their secret weapon to end the battle.

Ritsuka touched the tips of Soubi's outstretched fingers with his own. To the other Unit, it looked like they were reaching for one another for comfort or power, but it was a signal that they understood what the other wanted. Using their bond was easy since Copycat couldn't hear it, but Ritsuka preferred the visuals to screw with other people's minds. From the look Copycat was sharing, it looked like it was working and tricking them into thinking the duo was concerned.

"The bond between Copycat is thin like piano wire, breakable like string. Your fighting and arguing with one another is a sign of your weakness, of the bonds of Fighter and Sacrifice being tested and strained." Ritsuka observed. "Opponents that don't trust one another are my favorite to fight, because they're so easy to take down. You take our need for one another's presence and reassurance as weakness, but you fail to see the strength hidden within. This will be your downfall."

"You're one to talk about improper bonding!" The girl snarled. "Your Fighter isn't even yours!"

Their bond tugged in their chests at that as both Ritsuka and Soubi were affected by the Sacrifice's words. Neither of them showed it outwardly, and Ritsuka smirked instead of winced.

"That may be true, but my Fighter does not argue with me as yours does with you. There is no insubordination because we are partner, not master and servant. So many of you Units fail to see that. Your Fighter isn't your property, but an extension of yourself." Ritsuka snorted. "Such an odd, old concept, a Fighter belonging to a Sacrifice. You belong to one another. And once you realize that, the confines of name and fate mean nothing." He took Soubi's hand in his. "Your bond is weak, as are you. Your bond is easily broken. _Shatter!_ "

The bond between Copycat shimmered and danced as if protesting being tugged on. The girl reached for it closer to her end.

"What…what's going on…?" She wondered, seemingly desperate, despite her usual monotony.

"Our bond…you…you're a Sacrifice!" Itchiru scrambled to try and hold onto the ends where the bond was growing faint to try and hold it together. "You shouldn't…you can't use spells!"

"I believe I just did." Ritsuka laughed loudly.

"Repair!" Itchiru called. "Mend! Sew! Weld!"

"Itchiru…what's happening?" The girl tried to help.

The battle zone around them fell and disappeared. The heaviness in the air was gone, as was the melody coming from Copycat's now destroyed bond. Ritsuka and Soubi watched with mild disinterest as the duo tried to put back their fraying bond, which was slowly falling apart like sparkles of dust to the ground. Yoji and Natsuo appeared impressed by the action and stood slowly. Now that Copycat was useless, there was no point in keeping up their charade.

"It's pointless to try and recover a bond that has been destroyed." Ritsuka informed Copycat, the false edge from his voice fading away as he dropped his Executioner persona. "You're gripping at straws…"

The two ignored him, desperately searching the ground for the particles that were one their bond.

"Oi, don't you listen when you're being spoken to?" Yoji leaned down to Itchiru's ear. "It's over. You lost. Your bond has been broken by Loveless…"

He swatted Yoji away as he tried to grip onto the last remaining threads of his bond, coming from his chest and slowly disappearing. The girl gripped at her chest where her heart was as if she was having chest pain, the look on her face one of mourning for their bond. She slowly stood.

"You tricked us…" She muttered. "How…how can you side with the Executioners…!"

"You're a fool." Natsuo informed. "Our name is Zero."

"We _are_ Executioners." The twins spoke as one.

The girl paled. "You…you…!"

Itchiru stood quickly and swung, missing Yoji by inches as he tripped over his own feet.

"Oh, come on! Don't get physical, now!" Natsuo complained, grabbing the tripping male by the arm he'd swung with. "You're just making things worse for yourselves. Stop that." He threw Itchiru forward, so he fell onto his hands and knees.

Before the Fighter could get up, Yoji stepped on his back and forced him back to the ground.

"We were mercenaries before we became Executioners, so don't think I'm going to go easy on you. My name is Zero, not Merciless. Clearly…"

The girl lunged at him. "Get off him!" She ordered.

Natsuo grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back, holding her in place and swinging the other arm around like a cop would. She struggled against him, but his grip didn't falter.

"Would you two stop it?" Ritsuka wondered. "I get it, you're mad at us for tricking you, for _beating_ you. But there's no point in being so pathetic."

Itchiru tried to stand, but Yoji applied further pressure and stopped him from doing so. He grunted in defeat, laying on the ground with his arms splayed out to the sides like he was being crucified.

"A little dramatic, isn't it?" Yoji rolled his eyes, hands on his hips as he leaned down a little to whisper something that only he and Itchiru could hear.

The Fighter shuddered under the influence of the Sacrifice's words. The girl hung her head, tears streaming down her face.

"You're going to execute us, aren't you…?"

"Not until we get some answers." Ritsuka walked over to her, using his left hand to hold her chin up so she was forced to look him in the eye. She looked away the moment her dark orbs met his violet ones. "You said Merciless was a catalyst. A catalyst for _what_?"

She looked back at him, glaring. She didn't say a word, making a show of pressing her lips tightly together to say she wouldn't talk.

"Talk, Copycat." He ordered, growling at her as the hairs on his tail stood on edge.

He was so close to getting answers and this brat just decided to pull an elementary school student move on him? His pride wasn't going to let her get away with disrespecting him. His loyalty and promises to the others involved in the case, in the show, wasn't going to let her get away with denying his friends, his world and his sensei, justice.

"Soubi, make her speak. I'm growing tired of the silent treatment." Ritsuka ordered.

"Hai." Soubi leaned closer to her and smirked. "Words flow like rivers from the mouth of my silent enemy. Fill the night with her confessions."

The girl squeezed her lips tighter, shaking her head and making mph noises as she tried to fight against the spell. The boy didn't bother trying to counter it. Either he couldn't, or he'd given up; unlike his feisty partner. Ritsuka sighed and put his chin in his hand as he waited for Soubi's spell to overtake the Sacrifice and force her to tell him what he wanted to know. This wasn't an interrogation tactic he liked, nor was he proud to admit that he used it on occasion, but he really didn't have much of a choice at this point. She clearly wasn't going to talk, and it looked like Itchiru wasn't either.

"The catalyst…for revolution…" The words tumbled through the girl's clenched teeth, but she didn't make any effort to stop them this time, other than to grit her teeth harder.

"Revolution?" Ritsuka cocked an eyebrow. "What revolution are you talking about?"

"The system…works against those within it…only works for the higher ups…unfair." She shook her head as she tried to stop the words from coming. "He said if we helped…he'd free us from their tyranny…"

"Whose…?"

When she looked up at him, her eyes were hard and dark, her mind obviously taken over by spell. "Septimal Moon."

Ritsuka almost shook at the sound of his organization. So, they were trying to take down Septimal Moon after all. Perhaps the Executioners were the catalyst for that as well?

"The first…Units joined us…because of Merciless' wrongful death…once they found out what we could do…who we were…they realized any one of them could become a target if allowed." Her resistance seemed to slow to nothing as the words continued to spill from her lips. "We didn't believe it ourselves…he said he could prove it to us if we could use our powers to frame another Unit…Merciless was a simple choice. They'd humiliated us in battle enough…" She chuckled darkly. "Once they were Executed, we knew…we _knew_ it was only a matter of time before Septimal Moon and their beloved Executioners would find reason to eliminate anyone…anyone who found out the truth about ourselves and Merciless…Aoyagi Aidien retiring and the entirety of the system changing was unplanned." She paused. "But we still knew, we still _feared_ the day they'd turn our own people against one another. The power Septimal Moon contains is too strong…it will corrupt. Absolute power…corrupts absolutely…but he promised us absolution. He promised us shelter and safety and _freedom_. All we had to do was join him, help him…"

"Why is he doing this?" Ritsuka wondered, though he already knew the answer and simply wanted them to say it for Hostile's sake.

She shrugged one shoulder. "I can't really be sure…he's scared…he's never outright said it, but when we're in private and he speaks of Septimal Moon…he's obviously frightened. He's a civilian; you shouldn't be all that surprised. They're all frighteningly fearful creatures. It's almost pathetic, in all honesty. We're so much better than they are, yet we have to lie in wait, lie in hiding. We can't operate outside the parameters set before us by _your_ organization!" She seemed to darken at that. "It's unfair. We should be allowed to roam free. He realizes that. As a civilian, he realizes that we could destroy him with a snap of the fingers." She snapped her fingers to prove it. "So, he tries to keep us in control, tries to run us the way Septimal Moon runs us. You live free, you claim you are free, yet you do not live free. Do what I say, follow my orders. If you do, when the world you hail from is exposed, you will be safe. You will be my soldiers, safe from the civilians, sheltered from Septimal Moon." A pause as she caught her breath, wasted with such a long, hate-filled rant. "He provides us shelter and security in exchange for carrying out his will and pulling his revolution forward. He needs someone on the inside that not only knows enough to do some real damage but can be absolutely controlled on the short leash he provides us. Revolution…great Kings have been taken down from the inside. Caesar was betrayed by his friends and Rome fell…Septimal Moon will fall in the same manner. They know nothing of what is lying in the shadows, waiting to expose them for the frauds, the villains they really are…!"

"Why Kaji?" Ritsuka wondered. "Why did he pick Tamed as his target?"

"Easy meat." She chuckled. "Imagine the poor sensei's surprise when his long-lost father shows up out of the blue and wants back into his life. When the old man felt remorse for leaving behind his son, foolish for fearing the power he should have embraced." A pause. "It wasn't hard to worm his way into the Fighter's life. There's a part of everyone that longs for acceptance by their parents, their life-givers. Sure, he had a step-father, but what is the love and guardianship of a step-father over the love and blood bonds of a _father_? The next phase is complete. He is building his army, using his son's untimely demise for a basis of his plan, of recruiting others to join him as we have."

"And why Victorious?"

"Got a little too close to the truth. We tried to bring them in with us, as well, but they refused to listen after Kaji was brought up. The girl…" She laughed loudly. "The girl was so pathetic! The look on her face! And the Sacrifice! His response…his response of absolute fear and rejection? Oh, it was quite the show, watching him realize his master had fallen for someone else! Amusing!"

These people were just as bad as his brother, finding people's feelings and emotions amusing and reveling in their despair when their worlds came crashing down around them. He never thought he'd find someone as bad as Seimei, minus Nisei, and the fact that he _had_ wasn't comforting in the slightest.

"How much did they know?"

"Mostly assumptions, honestly." The boy muttered. "The girl and Kaji were a thing of sorts, I suppose. He…he'd told her about his father running off because he was afraid of his powers. It didn't sit right with her that he was coming back into his son's life offering comfort and comradery. She had a feeling he was connected. We caught her attempting to spy on us. She's not aware, but we sensed her. Father knew…he ordered us to take out the Unit before they got too close and exposed everything to you…"

"Father? You refer to this madman as _father_?"

"It's fitting, isn't it?" The girl giggled. "The _father_ who used his own son's demise to further his agenda? The _father_ of a _revolution_!"

No one spoke for a few minutes. Ritsuka took that as a sign that the girl had spilled everything and therefore the spell was going to wear off. He stood, straightening his back as he folded his hands behind him and stared down at the pathetic duo on the floor.

"You poor fools." He shook his head sadly. "Septimal Moon and the Executioners have made a lot of mistakes in the past. Mistakes they have since rectified and fortified defenses so those mistakes will never repeat. Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it, after all." He sighed. "Copycat, you stand accused of the murders of Yukawa Kaji of Tamed and Hirotaka Nishi and Asako Haika of Victorious. By the rules of Septimal Moon and the Executioners, the very world you are a part of yet rebel against so strongly, you are to stand to trial and face Execution."

"There will be no trial…" The boy realized sadly. "No matter what, you're just going to kill us. Eye for an eye…so just get on with it…don't bother with the spiel…"

"Itchiru!" The girl turned viciously and glared at him, any sign of spell controlling her having vanished from her eyes as Ritsuka spoke. "Are you insane? You're just begging for death!"

"We may as well be!" He forced Yoji's foot off him and turned to her. "Our bond has been _broken_. We're not a Unit anymore! We're Itchiru and Irachi! The same people we were before we found out what we were! There's no point in living if…"

"Itchiru…" She reached out to him, but he shrugged her hand away. "Don't be like this…there is life after destruction of a bond…there has to be…! Don't give up so easily! Don't let them win!"

"They've already won! You've told everything you know, and they're going to use that to go after him and stop our Revolution! Don't you see what you've done?"

"What I've done?" She all but screeched.

"A spell forced you, I know." He shook his head. "But in the end, the truth came out of your mouth…"

"I didn't hear you protesting!"

"What good would _that_ have done?"

"You also told him some stuff, too! It's not all on _me_!"

"Are you two siblings?" Ritsuka cocked an eyebrow. "You bicker more than my brother and I."

They both glared.

"We are, for your information." Itchiru huffed. "Not that it's your business, but every other cat is out of the bag, so why not that one, too!"

Ritsuka rolled his eyes. "Don't cop an attitude with me. You're the murderers here. I'm the one trying to find justice for the people whose lives you've ruined."

"Why…?" The girl asked. "Why do you care so much about how everyone else was affected?"

"Because this is _my_ world you're messing with. I haven't been a part of it very long, but long enough to have pride in who I am, in _what_ I am and what I can do." Ritsuka held his chin high. "And I'll be damned if I let a couple of turncoats like you destroy the lives of everyone this world has brought to me just because you're a little angry that you can't just do whatever you want. You have sided with a madman, one who very well may turn on you once he gets us exposed and gets what he wants. He promises you safety and security if our worlds are to merge, but what's to say he gives it to you? Sure, you may be protected for a little while, but if it suits him, he'll just throw you under the bus, too." He chuckled. "After all, he had his own son, his flesh and blood, murdered to further his cause. Why in the world would he give a damn about either of _you_?"

Neither of them seemed to have an answer for that, finally falling silent. It was like all the fight and fire in them had fallen to ash in an instant. Maybe his words had an impact, or maybe they were just coming to realize their fates were sealed. He didn't really care, but a least he didn't need to listen to any more deluded ramblings or poorly timed arguments. He was about to tell the others to come out when Sanji, Taika, and Mako appeared from in the trees. The three had their arms linked, the former two allowing their battle signatures to show as they joined the three Units in the clearing. Hostile and her Fighter, and Akito and her father followed suit and exposed themselves as Units and as being present for the entire thing. Hostile clicked a button on the recorder she held in her hand. She seemed to be trembling, but whether it was from fear or anger wasn't obvious. There was a look in her eyes, a vengeful glint to them that seemed to be satisfied. Sanji's parents came out of hiding as well and joined their daughter and her seemingly new friends as Sanji and Mako giggled about something together. Copycat looked around, realizing they were surrounded by at least a part of a Unit. The boy's shoulders slumped even further, if that were possible, in defeat.

"Open and shut case if I say so myself, Aoyagi." Hostile told him, tossing the neko the recorder in her hand. "I mean, we have all the proper evidence we need."

"And enough witnesses to build an army." Akito added.

She and Hostile both giggled like schoolgirls as if they were finally starting to get along now that they'd united against their true enemy.

"I don't think we'll have _any_ issue calling this and open and shut case. I think we've made the Executioner's job very easy for her, if I do say so, myself." Ritsuka smirked, slumping his shoulders and letting his true self show over the persona he'd been showing Copycat for the entirety of their encounter.

"Yeah, hopefully she won't be _too_ mad about us going behind her back and doing this like we did. Never know; it's hard to tell with her." Yoji rolled his eyes, making Natsuo laugh at sarcasm.

Sanji's mother pulled two pairs of handcuffs from behind her back. "Who'd like to do the honors?" She wondered.

Ritsuka held out his hand and took them, handing them off to Hostile. "I think you should do the honors. For Kaji."

She nodded, looking like she was ready to break down and cry. She took the cuffs and the satisfying clinking of metal briefly filled the air with a sense of finality as she shackled the harmful Unit.

"Kaji is my son." She informed them. "You ended the life of a great man. And for what? So, his worthless, spineless father could have his _revolution_ against something he's too fearful to even try and understand? He ran out on Kaji and I when he was three years old, because he saw his son use a spell and became afraid. Like a coward, he abandoned his only son…only to come back and use his son's kindness and warm heart against him…to stab him in the back and use his death to further his own selfish, misguided goals?" She chuckled darkly. "Regardless of what the Executioner decides, I hope you two rot in hell for what you did to my son and his friends. None of them deserved such a horrific end." She spat at their feet as she joined her Fighter-husband, burying her face into his shoulder to hide whatever emotions were dancing across her face and betraying her true nature.

"His words are sharper than either of their claws." Natsuo pointed out. "You know what we have to do to Fighters in these cases."

"I won't fight you." Itchiru argued. "You don't need to…"

"Be quiet." Natsuo ordered, nudging him with his toe.

He pulled a metal mouth guard out of his pocket and offered it to Sanji's mother. "They killed your cousins out of pettiness. Want to shut him up?"

She gently took it but shook her head and offered it to Akito. "Your Fighter was…he didn't deserve what he got…would you like to…?"

Akito looked up at her father, unsure if she should or not. He offered her a gentle smile and a nod. She smiled back and took the item.

"Thank you." She walked up to Copycat and knelt at the boy's side. "I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not. You killed my Fighter…Kaji was a good man, a great sensei. He…he could have done great things… _we_ could have done great things…but then you had to go and…" She choked on her own words as tears began to fall. "I'd say it's nothing personal, but it is. I have to agree with Hostile…I hope you both rot in hell…" She quickly pushed the guard over his mouth like she was afraid that if she didn't do it quick, she'd lose her courage to do so. Her hands trembled as she went to assemble the rest of the device.

Natsuo knelt with her and pushed the chin piece over Itchiru's chin. He then pulled the straps around the back of his head and clasped them together before pulling the ear pieces up and clamping them around the Fighter's ears.

"Too tight?" He wondered.

Itchiru just stared at him.

"Ah, right. You can't answer me anyway."

"Uck oo." Itchiru responded.

"Eh, it's not fool proof, but he's not going to cast any proper spells if he can't even tell me to…"

"Alright, Natsuo, we get it." Ritsuka snapped his fingers.

Hideki and a couple more sweepers came out of the woodwork, so to speak, and bowed gently to him.

"Yes?" Hideki wondered.

"Copycat are to be put on trial by the Executioner. Please, escort the duo back to Gora."

Hideki bowed again. "Affirmative, Executioner." He responded. "We will get them there as quickly as we can."

Two of the Sweepers moved to pull the two of them up.

"Hey, we can get up ourselves!" Irachi argued. "Don't you touch me…!"

Ritsuka slapped his forehead. Even defeated, she was a mouthy little tart.

"Natsuo…if you would…?"

He nodded, pulling another guard out and securing it around her the best he could with her struggling. She glared at him with seething eyes as he nodded and laughed.

"Take um away, boys!" He ordered.

The Sweepers grabbed both, though Irachi thrashed against their grip. One of them muttered a sleep spell and the fidgeting girl fell asleep in their grip. They all but dragged her to the car, tips of her shoes leaving behind marks that Ritsuka would have to scuff away before they left. Last thing he needed was police coming onto them and starting a commotion where there was none. Luckily for him, Hideki did that part himself as he followed behind the Sweepers.

"Hideki." Ritsuka addressed him.

The Sweeper stopped in his tracks and stared at him. "Hai?" He wondered.

"Their bond is severed. Any spell you use against one will have to be doubled or include both of their names in your spell. Itchiru and Irachi."

Hideki nodded. "Sure thing, Ritsuka." He replied. "Well done, Executioner. I hope Gomon-sama doesn't rip you a new one for this."

He shrugged. "I did what I had to." He laughed, intertwining his fingers with Soubi's. "We all did. If she wants to complain, she may as well just kiss my ass."

Zero and Soubi laughed as Hideki rolled his eyes, smiling.

"We'll be seeing you. I hope you will be there for the trial?"

"Of course. My territory."

"And we're witnesses!" Mako informed, squeezing Sanji's arm. "All of us are. You can bet we'll be there!"

"I'll submit written testimony…my parents won't let me go out to Gora…civilians. What are you going to do?" Taika shrugged one shoulder.

Hideki nodded. "Well done. All of you." He turned and followed the others as they loaded Copycat into a limo that pulled up and drove away together.

"I think we're done here." Ritsuka yawned. "Well done, everyone."

"What happens now?" Akito wrapped her arms around herself. "We're going to get justice for Victorious…for Nishi and Haika, for Kaji and Merciless…but…what if he uses Copycat's disappearance to out us all?"

"If he exposes us, we'll be ready for him. For now, we should get some rest. Most of us have school in the morning…"


	37. The Fates Intertwined

Dlbn: Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay on posting. I had this written, I've just been busy with work and wedding stuff.

Nbld: So, Review Corner! Thank you to The DarkCat for reviewing! Cake for you!

The DarkCat: Glad you liked! Spell battles are always hard for me to write for some reason, so that took a while to write ^^" I wasn't sure if I wanted to use Copycat as the name or not, but it's the only one I came up with that liked enough in the end.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, Copycat, and a few select OCs that are existing here. Everything canon belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off writing this.

000

The trial for Copycat occurred two weeks after they were defeated. As expected, no more murders of Units occurred in the two weeks, and there was no sign of life from Kaji's father or his crew. Part of Ritsuka feared they were lying in wait for the right time to attack. The other, more rational part of him said that they weren't going to do anything, and their threats had just been empty. He was probably going to continue building his army, using his ideas of revolution and revolt to drag in the spineless. Whatever he was up to, Ritsuka knew it wasn't good, but he couldn't really care. The testimony from everyone who had been a part of the case from the beginning, no matter how small or if they were there for the final battle, was solid enough that it was pretty much an open and closed case for the murderous Unit. Mikado got halfway through the audio recording before putting up her hand for Tokino to shut it off.

"I've heard enough." She informed, sitting up straight. "Copycat…what you have done…is horrendous. You struck down innocents. Your _own people_. And the only things you have to say for yourself…are that revolution is coming, is worth the price of a few lives? I've heard enough from the tape. I don't need to hear the whole thing, but I will because we all know that this thing isn't over yet; not by a long shot. Yes, we are here today to get justice for the Units you slaughtered." She looked to Sanji's parents. "Cousins of Merciless. Are you here to represent your fallen brethren?"

The mother nodded. "We are." She confirmed.

"Merciless was falsely executed by the previous Executioners, under the direction of the old Septimal Moon." Mikado informed them of what they already knew. "The actions of Copycat have directly caused this grave injustice. The responsible parties have all rescinded their decisions, and the rules have long since been rewritten. Blame was never cast; fault was never admitted to." She paused, tapping a perfectly manicured fingernail on the papers in front of her. "Let me say here and now, that I am sorry for my predecessor's grave mistake. Merciless is obviously innocent in all of this, yet they took the fall to help a madman start his misguided revolution. Copycat has been found guilty of the murders of Merciless. Septimal Moon and the Executioners offer a formal apology to you and your family. I know this will not make amends for what we did, nor will it bring those poor souls back. But fault must be admitted, and blame must fall onto someone's shoulders. Since the Executioners responsible have fallen apart, the blame falls on the current generation, even if that is misguided on its own. We will use what happened here to ensure it never happens again, to take a closer look at ourselves and our policies and rewrite them so no one will suffer again as you have. My formal apologies."

Sanji's mother said nothing, tears streaming down her face as her husband held her tight and Sanji squeezed her waist.

"Then we draw our attention to the matter of Yukawa Kaji, Fighter of Tamed." Mikado looked towards Akito and her father, who were sitting with Hostile and her partner. "Suka Akito, Sacrifice of Tamed, and partner of Yukawa Kaji. Hostile, Sacrifice Akikaito Tsumengi and Fighter Akikaito Yukito. You are here as representatives of Yukawa Kaji, correct?"

The three of them nodded or gave her otherwise verbal confirmation.

"Yukawa Kaji's death has been ruled a homicide. Copycat admits to helping his father kill him as a catalyst to begin the next phase of his plan." She began. "What happened to Kaji was uncalled for. There was no reason for him to die. His father used his longing for acceptance to get to him and take him down. He would have lived a full, happy life otherwise. To have such robbed from him is a disgrace." A pause. "Copycat stands hereby convicted of the murder of Yukawa Kaji."

The air felt heavy with her words providing little comfort for the grieving family members.

"Suka Akito, Sacrifice of Tamed. You are here as a representative of Victorious, Sacrifice Hirotaka Nishi and Fighter Asako Haika, as no other suitable representative has come forward. Correct?"

"Y-Yes…" Akito seemed to be afraid of the Executioner, though she knew the teen was on her side.

"Copycat has admitted to the murder of Victorious because they simply knew too much and got too close to their master for comfort." Mikado shuffled some papers around. "They hereby stand convicted of such a travesty. Victorious had done nothing wrong, only sought to find answers that would take too long to come to light."

 _If you'd let me move earlier and stopped restricting me, I would have had answers sooner._ Ritsuka thought bitterly.

To him, things only went on as long as they did because he was stopped at all angels from doing what needed to be done until eh decided to say _screw it_ and play by his own rules. Perhaps he was a bit more like Seimei than he cared to really admit.

"Copycat, you stand convicted of the murders of five people in total, in the name of your _revolution._ " Mikado spat out the word like it amused her. "Anything to say for yourselves?"

Irachi glared and chuckled. "You're going to want to get off that high horse of yours before you're thrown off, _Executioner_." She laughed. "Our revolution _will_ come to light. He is going to use our disappearance to further his plans. You are all simply sealing your fates by condemning us. When we don't come home, he'll know! And then the world will know. You will not walk away unscathed. Civilians are easily frightened, especially by the things they do not know. It will not end well for you. Septimal Moon and the Executioners will fall. Mark my words!"

Itchiru just rolled his eyes and looked away. "Give it up, will you? They don't believe us, and they don't care. The fact that we're even _doing_ this just says that he isn't doing anything…he doesn't care…Aoyagi was right…"

"Itchiru!" She glared. "Don't be such a pacifist!"

"Our lives are over, Irachi…no matter what she decides…there is no life without a bond…"

Mikado rolled her eyes. "Just another set of fools playing with power they have no business toying with." She commented. "You will sit in the Septimal Moon's Wasteland awaiting your sentencing." She snapped her fingers. "Sweepers. Secure the prisoners and move them back to their respective cells."

Irachi fought and argued at every chance she could get while the Sweepers restrained her with the mouth guard. Itchiru just let them do what they wanted, knowing he was done, and that fighting was pointless. Unlike his partner, he obviously was ready to succumb to his fate. The Sweepers started to move them out of the room.

"Copycat." Ritsuka addressed the duo.

Itchiru looked up at him, but Irachi made a show of looking everywhere else.

"There is a Unit I know well. Their bond was severed. They live as civilians now, no longer a part of our world. My original Fighter was murdered to further my brother's agenda. Our bond was severed with his death, yet I live on. There _is_ a life after the breaking of a bond." Ritsuka informed. "You just need to find the right reason to keep on moving."

Itchiru seemed to understand what he was saying, but Irachi just rolled her eyes and started shouting muffled curses and vows of vengeance as they were hauled away out the doors. Once the metal doors slammed shut, the silence overtaking the room was deafening. Mikado shuffled her papers together and tapped them on the table to even them out along the edges. No one spoke as Ritsuka sat down on Soubi's lap, instead of at his side like he'd sat during the trial. Mikado cleared her throat and stood.

"I need to finish listening to the recording." She informed. "It's vile…I know. Nothing I've said or done or decided here will make amends for what happened, but at least it will prevent more tragedy."

"For now." Hostile informed. "Who knows what else he has up his sleeve."

She nodded, false pigtails bouncing. "For now, we have to live and function as if his threat of exposure is real. It is more likely he won't make a move, but we can never be too careful." She stated. "As of now, the Executioners may resume function. Aoyagi, there is a stack of tests on your desk that need to be filled out. Zero, I have a list of people for you to track down. Its back to operations as normal. Good evening, everyone."

She left the room, escorted by Tokino. The doors clang shut again as the others slowly stood to leave.

"Thank you everyone for all that you've done." Ritsuka stated. "She won't say it, but it means a lot to all of us. Rest easy. Vengeance will be ours."

No one spoke as they left the room, leaving the remaining Executioners alone together. Yoji yawned.

"Guess its back to work as usual. No breaks. She takes shit _way_ too seriously."

"For once, I agree." Soubi stated.

"Same." Added Ritsuka. "I'll take the stack home, but I'm not starting for a while. I have school work to catch up on. Come on, Soubi."

He held out his hand, which Soubi took as they left the room together.

"Do you think we're safe?" Ritsuka looked up at Soubi. "I'd be a fool to think this was all over."

"Until he makes a move again, it would appear we are alright, yes." Soubi squeezed his hand and kissed the top of his head for reassurance. "But when we get home…there's something I would like to do, if you don't mind."

"What is it?"

Soubi only smirked.


	38. Conculsions and Endgames

Dlbn: Hello, everyone! Well, this is it. This is the last shebang, the grand finale. Welcome to the final chapter of The Executioners!

Nbld: Be on the lookout for the sequel, Midnight Sun, coming out as soon as I get the time and motivation to write for it.

Dlbn: I wasn't _entirely_ certain how to end this, so that's why it took so long to update. That and I work two jobs and have no time to have a life outside of work. *twitches*

Nbld: Least we got to the final chapter of Diablo earlier. Time for Review Corner! The DarkCat and Promocat for reviewing! Cake for you both!

The DarkCat: I normally refer to her as Hostile just for simplicity's sake. There's a lot of OC action here, so I wanted her to stand out since she's Kaji's mother. His father is at a bit of a dead end without Copycat, but I'm sure his slimy backside will figure out _something_. I'm always worried about how I portray Mikado, but I'm glad you liked her.

Promocat: He doesn't want to be like or look like his brother but, unfortunately, they're a _lot_ alike. Without the homicidal urges and the like.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, Kaji and parents, Akito and her father, Sanji and her parents, Mako, and Taika. I make NO money off writing this. Anything Loveless canon belongs to Yun Kouga.

Dedication: As of May 25th, 2019, I am officially Mrs. Dlbn H! My husband and I tied the knot with my little boy at my side and all my friends and family in the wings. I can't wait to live a long and happy life with you by my side.

Dedication 2: Happy fourth birthday to my favorite little special dude! My son's birthday was the thirteenth, but I didn't get to update then, so he gets his dedication now! I look forward to watching you grow up into the great young man I know you will be. Mommy and daddy love you so much!

Dedication three: Happy belated birthday to my best friend and wifey, who shares a birthday with my son. Can't wait to see you and the boys soon!

000

It wasn't the nice, homecooked meal by candlelight-probably because Soubi forgot to pay the electric bill _again_ -that surprised him. Nor was it Yoji and Natsuo being told to stay in Gora so he and Ritsuka could have a nice night together, nor staying the night that surprised him. No, Soubi was always asking him to spend the night-thank god mother didn't mind all that much-and doing nice things like that for him, especially after a long, tiring investigation like the Tamed murders had turned into. It was how affectionate Soubi was being. How he all but hinted that he wanted to go to bed early, despite having slept on the six-hour train ride back from Gora. He gave him a back rub after they shared a hot, relaxing shower to get rid of the stink of public transit and work out the kinks in their bodies from uncomfortable seating and the stress of everything going on around them. While they were safe for now, neither thought that the safety and serenity of their world was going to last long, let alone forever. But for now, Ritsuka had been content to get a little extra attention, to pay a little bit more attention to one another and less on the case that was surrounding them. A back massage turned into a pair of lips on his neck, kissing in the dark, and an hour or so later of missing clothes and preparations that sent Ritsuka to a place he never thought he'd be.

000

Waking up the next morning and not being able to twitch his ears or tail to get a feel of the day startled him and he frantically ran his fingers through his obsidian hair to find the appendages. But when he finally woke up a little and looked around the room, eyes first spotting his discarded clothes and then the sleeping, naked blonde at his side, he started to laugh to himself. How could he have forgotten? For once, it wasn't _just a dream_. It was reality. He and Soubi had…finally, after begging for all these years, the blonde finally made a damn move and got rid of his child-like features that frankly just didn't _belong_ on an Executioner. He was giddy as he carefully slipped out of bed and made his way to the bathroom, wincing at the pain in his back and the coldness of the floor. He flipped on the light and took time admiring his now more adult reflection. His mother's words of coming home with ears filled him with dread and he rushed back to the bedroom.

"Soubi!" Ritsuka shook him. " _Soubi_ …!"

"Mmm…?" Soubi stirred, turning over and snuggling under the covers more. "Ritsuka? What time is it?" He asked, a lazy smile crawling over his face as he sat up and gently ran a hand over where one of his ears would be. "Damn…"

"Yeah, damn is right, idiot!" Ritsuka huffed. "Mother is going to _kill_ us." He pointed to his missing ears. "We…god, I was so wrapped up in the idea of _finally_ making love to you that I forgot she'd _kill me_."

"Relax, relax." Soubi pat his head and reached out to the nightstand, opening a drawer and pulling out two fuzzy black fake ears. "I'm prepared."

Ritsuka frowned, corner of his lip twitching. "You've been planning on this for a while."

"You were getting insistent." Soubi shrugged one shoulder. "Of course, if you'd ordered me, I'd have had no choice. But can't hurt to be prepared, can it?"

"You know I would never order that!" Ritsuka took the ears and studied the clipping mechanism.

"I'm only teasing, love." Soubi informed, pecking him on the lips. "Don't be so tense."

"Don't be such a tease." Ritsuka rolled his eyes. "What about…?"

Soubi reached under the bed and pulled out a black tail in a box.

"Okay, I guess you did think of everything…except…"

"Except what?"

"You know my ears and tail are very… _expressive_ …"

"They move."

Ritsuka turned over the box and read the back. "Okay…you got me. You were _definitely_ moreprepared for last night than I was."

Soubi chuckled. "I suppose _one_ of us has to be."

Ritsuka glared as Soubi got up and got dressed, taking in a good view of the man he'd lain with all night. He blushed and looked away when he noticed Soubi noticing him. The blonde kissed the top of his head.

"How about breakfast, hm?"

"Hey, Soubi…?" Ritsuka wondered.

"Hai?"

"What changed your mind?"

"Hm?"

"About…about sex…you always said I was too young…or it wasn't the right time…why the sudden change of heart?"

Soubi tapped his fingers on the doorframe, trying to find the right words to appease his younger lover.

"I've realized something during this investigation." Soubi began slowly. "Whether or not this guy is up to something and exposes our world, the world we live in _is_ very unstable. Between your brother and this guy's nutjob crew, who knows what we're in for in the end. I just…just in case things go wrong…I'd rather they go wrong _after_ I just show you how much I care about you."

Ritsuka just stared, face red as he hid his embarrassment behind the carboard tail box.

"I guess they were right." He side, gently tossing the box onto the bed.

He had the next year or so to pretend to be a virgin. For now, he'd be the adult Soubi turned him into.

000

With things turning back to a relevant normalcy, Ritsuka was falling asleep in math class from a combination of boredom and lack of sleep the past few weeks thanks to his and Soubi's newer relationship development. Yuiko poked him in the side with a pencil just in time for their sensei to begin walking around to check the homework. The bell rang before she could finish, but she dismissed the teens she had already checked the homework for.

"Thanks." Ritsuka told the pinkette.

"You're welcome." She smiled back. "You've been really tired lately."

"Soubi wears me out." Ritsuka leaned back and ran a hand through his hair. "Now that my mother came out and said she knows about us; we don't have to be as secretive anymore."

"That's great." Yuiko beamed. "Yui… _I'm_ really happy for you guys. I'm glad I got to meet him. He seems really nice."

"Yeah, he is." Ritsuka chuckled, fake ears twitching.

Yayoi was waiting for them outside of the classroom. "I heard they're having a memorial for sensei Friday."

"Oh, that's great. About time." Ritsuka replied.

"Yeah, it took a while for them to go over the details and come to a ruling in his death. I was reading about it on Yahoo news last night." Yayoi adjusted his backpack strap. "They ruled it an accident, since they didn't have proof otherwise."

"I wonder what really happened." Yuiko sighed. "Poor sensei. I hope his soul will be able to rest, even if they didn't…"

"You don't think it was an accident, do you?" Ritsuka cocked an eyebrow.

"Well…I mean…" Yuiko swallowed hard. "It probably was, but I wonder how it happened."

Akito walked by with Sanji and a few of her friends, having transferred to the school a week or so prior to be closer to people _like her_. She waved happily, giving Ritsuka a sign to call her later.

He flipped his hand in a slight wave and nodded.

"You know the new girl…?" Yayoi cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah, she used to go to school with Yoji and Natsuo." Ritsuka responded.

"That's cool. Ritsuka knows everyone." Yuiko giggled. "But seriously…I wonder what happened to Sensei. I'm going to feel so bad until they find out…"

"We may never know." Yayoi shrugged one shoulder. "Only one that does is sensei, and if anyone was there that night, them, too."

Ritsuka looked over his shoulder at Akito and Sanji giggling with their friends, spotting Mako and Taika with their respective friends near their lockers, preparing for the next class. He smiled. Well, not everyone would always be in the dark. For now, there were four teenagers, one group of Executioners, and a counsel of people who knew the truth. Kaji's spirit would be able to rest in peace, knowing his Fighter was safe and that his father's companions were facing judgment at the hands of the Executioners. Ritsuka was just glad that _he_ was also able to live life in peace, knowing that just a dangerous Unit was off the streets. Now if only Kaji's father would stay in the shadows where he belonged and try to destroy Septimal Moon from the inside instead of through the civilian world that knew nothing of their existence. But if he did ever rear his ugly head again, if his people ever did expose the Fighting world to the rest of the world, they'd be ready. And they wouldn't be going down without a fight. A fight he was sure they'd win. After all, no one got one over on the Executioners.

No one.


End file.
